Hand that Rocks the Cradle
by M1CH3
Summary: CJ and Houston race to save CJ's daughter.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, I've been on a bit of a nostalgia bend lately. I've re-watched some of my favorite shows growing up and...well...sometimes stories want to be written. **

**I had forgotten how talented Pamela Hensley was. **

**If anyone likes this and wants me to continue, let me know. **

**I have no beta, so all mistakes are mine.**

**If anyone wants to Beta my stories, let me know.**

**I won nothing but the idea...I'm just glad that they let me use them. :)**

**Also, just so everyone knows, I'm more than likely going to bring the characters closer to modern day, not age wise, but story wise.**

**Chapter 1**

"Houston Investigation." Chris answered the phone with her usual professionalism. She handed C.J. the messages then continued. "Cassandra Parsons? Do you mean C.J. Parsons?"

C.J. stopped in her tracks. Only one person called her Cassandra, that was her good friend Cami. "Who is it Chris?"

"It's the Durant, Oklahoma, Police department?" Said like she was wondering what exactly a Durant, Oklahoma was.

"I'll take it." She said reaching for the phone. "Hello, this is C.J. Parsons. How may I help you?"

Matt Houston walked in just in time to see the color drain from his best friend, C.J.'s, face.

"Is she all right?...I understand. Since she is a minor, I expect that you will refrain from questioning her until I get there…I don't care…I am her lawyer as well as her next of kin…Of course I have a license to practice in Oklahoma. Thank you." She hung up the phone.

Matt noticed the tears in her eyes, "What do you need C.J.?" he asked putting his arms around her.

"Is your jet available?"

"Of course…Chris."

"Way ahead of you." She stated, already having the company on the phone telling them to fuel up and get ready for passengers. "Yes, two, C.J. Parsons and Matt Houston."

C.J. took a deep breath and pulled herself together. "You don't have to come with me."

"Where else would I be."

"You don't even know what Is going on."

"I don't need to. The fact you are shaking and look like you are going to faint any moment is reason enough."

She broke down to that and fell into his arms. He held her close to him. "Chris, can you get our go bags from downstairs?"

"Of course."

They had taken the helicopter to LAX then the jet to a small air strip in the town of Durant, Oklahoma. During the flight C.J. was unnaturally quiet. Making notes on her legal pad. She still hadn't told her much about what was going on, that was how he knew it was something bad.

When C.J. finally started talking, he wasn't sure she was talking to at first, she was so quiet and looking out the window. "Do you remember my friend Cami? From college? We were roommates." She didn't wait for him to answer, she wasn't even looking at him, but he kept listening. Desperately wanting to wipe away her tears that were falling from her eyes. "It was me, Julia, Cami and Tarra. Tarra dropped out Junior year and they never replaced her in our room. Thom kind of took over Tarra's spot. He and Cami got married right out of college."

Matt came and sat down next to her, took ahold of her hand,

"They were so in love, it was almost painful to watch at times. It didn't even matter to Thom that she couldn't have children. He loved her anyway and wanted to build a life with her. Trust me, they were a love story for the age. Eventually, they had a surrogate to help them have a child.

The officer on the phone said that Cami and Thom were murdered last night in their home, and their daughter was brutally beaten before she was able to get ahold of her father gun and empty and clip into the guys. She is only eleven Matt. She is still a little girl." She turned and cried on his shoulder.

C.J. was one of the strongest women he knew, but everyone had their breaking points. This seemed to be hers. He pulled her into his lap and cradled her like a child, mourning with her.

When they landed in the small-town airport, a car was waiting for them. They were then taken to the local hospital and up to the 5th floor. There was an officer waiting for them.

"Ms Parsons?" the officer asked.

After her cry, she had pulled herself together and went into Lawyer mode. "Yes, where is Josephine?"

The officer pointed down the hall to where there was another uniformed officer standing in front of the door.

"Why is there a guard?" She asked with that tone that Matt knew all too well. The one that said 'I better like your answer or I'm going to tear your balls off'

"She is a suspect in a quadruple homicide ma'am. The social worker wouldn't let us hand cuff her to the bed, so there is a guard at her door." The officer stated.

Houston balked at the thought of hand cuffing an eleven year old to a hospital bed.

"She is eleven." She went toe to toe with the officer who was a good six inches taller than she was.

"She was holding the gun that killed all four people. She hasn't spoken a word since we took her from the scene. We had to get your name from her school records."

C.J. was fuming.

"C.J., honey, why don't I get whatever other information we need from the officer and you go check on the girl." He kissed the side of her head as she nodded and started down the hall.

Quietly she opened the hospital room door and walked in. She saw the small body on the bed, and a woman sitting quietly beside her.

"Hello." C.J. said to the woman. "I'm C.J. Parsons."

"Aunt Cassie?" the little girl turned around. The girl was a mess. A black eye, busted lip, and it looked like chunks of hair were missing. When the young girl lifted her arms, she had a multitude of bruses, and her neck had the tell-tale signs of someone trying to choke her. Even with all this, the officer wanted to cuff her to the bed.

C.J. quickly went to the young girl and took her in her arms. "Hey JoJo."

The young girl started sobbing. "Mommy and Daddy are dead."

C.J. sobbed with her. "I know sweetie. I am so sorry."

She held the girl, then looked towards the other woman in the room. "Are you the social worker?"

"Yes, ma'am. Maxie Hicks. I'm glad she has someone. She is going to need it."

"Can you tell me what happened." C.J. asked.

"Aunt Cassie?"

"Shh sweetie. I'm just getting information. Remember what I told you about gathering as much information as possible so that we can know what happened?"

The girl clung to her and nodded into her chest.

"The neighbors heard gunshots, and when the police went into the house, they found the bodies of four people. Two of there were her parents, the other two, one was a known Junkie, but the other was the Police Chief's son."

"That would explain what everyone is so upset." C.J. stated

Maxie nodded. "I did what I could, they wanted to handcuff her to the bed, but I volunteered to set here with her so that they didn't have to, and the captain ordered the guard."

"Thank you for your help."

"I'll get the paperwork for you to sign."

"Did you know her father is Choctaw?"

C.J. Nodded. "That was why they decided to move out here."

"If they decide to prosecute, which I hope to God they don't, because we all know what a screw up Dylan was, you may want to have the case heard in Choctaw Court."

C.J. nodded and watched the woman walk out the door, which finally gave her time to take a look at her precious JoJo. "Look at me sweetie."

She was looking over the girl's injuries when the Doctor came with Houston right behind him.

"Miss, I'm told you are her next of kin."

"Yes, doctor. I'm also her lawyer. I want you to cease any communication with the police officers in regard to her care from this moment on. I understand working with the ADA, but not the police in this instance since it seems the Chief is part of this scandal."

"Yes, ma'am," the doctor looked at the girl's chart before he spoke again. "May I speak with you outside? Would it be ok for your husband can stay with the girl."

C.J. gave Houston a strange look as he walked over and kissed her cheek, placing something in her hand "It's ok love, I won't let anything happen to her." C.J. just nodded and walked out with the doctor.

In her hand she noticed the wedding ring set that she and Houston would use when undercover. She quickly put them on her left-hand ring finger.

"Ms. Parsons, that little girl is lucky to be alive."

"I haven't gotten a chance to review all her injuries…"C.J. Started

"The worst aren't the ones that you can readily see. Of course, you saw the black eye and swollen lip. She had a concussion from having her head repeatedly banged against something solid, most likely the floor. From what she said, she blacked out for a while. In the time she was unconscious, she was raped. If she wasn't unconscious, she doesn't remember it, only remembers waking up and hurting everywhere."

C.J. inhaled sharply.

"They weren't gentle with her either. She had massive tearing and bruising. Even her cervix was bruise. She was brought here when they found a pool of blood in the back of the squad car where she had been hand cuffed and put in at the scene. She passed out at the scene, and when the EMT went to check on her, she was unconscious. Trust me when I tell you that the EMT was furious when he found out that she wasn't checked out before being cuffed and put into the back of the squad car."

C.J. was trying to keep her temper and failing. This department was going to have a major lawsuit on their hands if she had anything to say about it, and she most definitely did.

C.J. knew from some of her early cases just how much force has to be exerted in order to bruise a woman's cervix. If she hadn't been conscious for it, she would have been in a great deal of pain during the rape. More so than she currently was.

"Did you do a rape kit?" she asked in lawyer mode still, her life line. She knew that if she tried to be anything else right now, she would be a puddle of tears, and she didn't have time for that.

"The Social worker gave the ok. I knew what they were trying to say, and I wanted to make sure that as much evidence to help her was collected."

"Thank you, doctor."

"Ms. Parsons. I have three daughters. Ten through fourteen. If you need any help, just let me know. I mean it, anything. If everything goes well, we should be able to release her to your custody in a few days.." And he handed her his card. "My cell number is on the back."

She just nodded.

"So, you and Aunt Cassie are married?" the young girl asked.

He put his finger up to his lips, "The officer assumed, I didn't correct. I still had the rings from when we went undercover, so I just figured we would go with it."

The girl smiled around her swollen lip. She reminded him so much of C.J.'s cheekiness.

"You call her Aunt Cassie. How did that happen. She hates her name."

The girl gave a drug filled chuckle.

"It was her mother's fault." C.J. stated from the door. "Cami would call me Cassie Jo when she wanted to make me angry. And Cassiopeia Josephine when she was mad. When this munchkin was about 8 months old, Cami calld me Cassie, and suddenly, she blurted out "Cassie", Cami has this mischievous streak and encouraged her to call me Aunt Cassie. She never stopped." She smiled at the girl, went over to the other side of the bed, and laid with the girl. Josephine snuggled up next to her.

"They hurt me Aunt Cassie."

"I know sweetie. You want to tell me what happened?"

"I had a nightmare, so I went in and snuggled with mom and dad. Something woke up dad who then woke up me and mom. He had his gun. He put me and mom in the closet. We heard some guys that were hurting daddy. Mommy hid me behind some boxes and told me to stay. Then she went out to help daddy. I heard her scream and scream and scream and…. then it was quiet."

Houston's heart boke as he listened to the little girl talk about listening to her parents die in the room next to her.

She hiccupped "Then they came into the closet, looking for something, but one of them found me. They pulled my hair threw me down on the floor, I saw mommy and daddy. I think I screamed, I don't know, all I know is that they started to hit me. Next thing I remember was waking up, I hurt everywhere, then I saw daddy's gun under the bed. I heard something downstairs, so I grabbed the gun, and when they came back to the room, I started shooting. I aimed at their chest and bellies like you told me. Hit the big target."

"You did great sweetie."

"Then the police came, and I thought it would be ok, but it wasn't." She burst into tears, "They hand put hand cuffs on me like I did something bad. Aunt Cassie, and put me in the back of a police car. I didn't feel very well, I think I may have peed because it was wet, but I was so tired, I just wanted to sleep, so I closed my eyes, and woke up here."

C.J. looked towards Matt as she held the trembling girl in her arms, and nodded towards the call button. The girl needed pain medication, the nurse didn't answer, just came in with what the doctor had ordered for her earlier for pain control. He watched as she put the needle into her IV and pushed the meds. C.J. held her until she fell asleep.

"The doctor wants to keep her for a few days, so he said that you and your husband are welcome to the extra bed."

"Thank you, nurse." Houston stated.

He watched as C.J. uncurled herself from JoJo.

Quietly she took his hand and lead him to the bathroom in the room.

"I need to tell you something." She said once she closed the door.

"You know you can tell me anything." He said holding her hands.

She nodded. "JoJo is my daughter."

Of all the things that she could have told him, that didn't even make the list.

"Cami was in an accident when she was fourteen that made it impossible for her to have kids. So, her and Thom asked if I would have a baby for them. He had excellent insurance that paid for all of it, but I would have done it for them anyway."

"Who is the father."

"Thom."

Matt raised an eyebrow.

"Thom did his thing in the bathroom with Cami, then she…turkey based it into me. She wanted to feel part of the process, and Thom wasn't going to cheat on her…so it worked."

"So, biologically, JoJo is your daughter?"

"Yes. And now that Thom and Cami are gone, I will be her mother in reality."

He pulled her into his arms. "you will make an amazing mother C.J."

He held on to him like a life line. "It was never supposed to happen."

"I know. I know." He rocked her "does JoJo know."

She nodded her head. "We never kept it from her. Cami used to say to her. "JoJo, you came from God's arms to Aunt Cassie's arms to mine." She explained that she was wanted so much that the three of us made sure that she would exist in our lives.

"So, Cami adopted her?"

She shook her head. "No. They wanted the transition to be easy if something happened to them for me to take custody. I tried to talk her into adopting JoJo, but she refused. She said that she wasn't greedy, she was willing to share the miracle I gave her" she started sobbing for her friends, the daughter that was left behind, for the pain that she was going through.

Houston picked her up and took her into the other room, laid her on the bed before pushing it closer to her daughter. He didn't want either one to be very far away from each other. Then sat between the beds, then taking hold of C.J.'s hand he watched as she closed her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, I'm back with another installment...hope you like it.

All mistakes are mine

The show isn't.

Chapter 2

Houston watched as C.J. slept. Today had been a day full of surprises. He had thought he knew everything about her. She had always told him that there were many things he didn't know and looking at the little girl that looked so much like he remembered C.J. when they were young. The eyes, the smile, the hair, even the voice was familiar. Little JoJo was a Mini C.J.

He looked at the little girl and then then to the woman not far away it was like a bolt if lightening hit him and he knew. This was his family. CJ and JoJo. His. His Girls. He suddenly had a vision of a whole posse of girls all different ages, riding horses. CJ laughing from a rocking bench that was set up under a tree, holding a baby to her breast, and if the blanket was anything to go by, it was, another girl.

CJ had made this child with another man. He understood that it was a joint venture with the man's wife, and no physical contact was involved, but…he wasn't sure how to explain to himself, let alone anyone else. Even though he had thought he had been fine with her possibly marrying another man…and right now he wasn't sure how he could have ever been ok with that…he didn't want her to have any other man's babies but his. He wanted to create life with this woman. He had never felt that way about any other woman in his life, even the ones he almost married.

Looking back, he couldn't see any of them being a good mother to his children. Especially the last one. The one who almost destroyed his life. The one who almost made him forsake everything and everyone he loved. The one that made him almost give up CJ. He had almost lost her forever because…he didn't have an excuse. He felt so strongly for the other woman, but he should have learned by now that his emotions always got him in trouble.

He had always envisioned his life with children, and looking at CJ right now, she was the only woman he could honestly envision having them with. The only woman he knew he could trust with something as precious as his child.

Whoa, he thought. Where was all this coming from. He looked down at the wedding ring on his finger, the wedding set on hers, and it just felt so right for them to be thought of as a couple. Together. Looking back, he wondered why it had taken him so long to figure it out, and wondered what it would take to convince her that they should be a couple period.

This was so the wrong time to be thinking about this. The thought of them together was not a new concept for him. He had helped her through the death of Carl and the betrayal of Robert. And she had always been his rock when things went south with and of his love interests, especially….shiver…Elizabeth. Once he had come to his senses about the one CJ called "That Woman", he had started to see CJ as more than just his best friend, but as the desirable woman she was.

Once that thought had taken root, he started taking more interest in the things that held her interest. There were many nights they would be snuggled up on the couch in his beach house, everything locked up, lights low, and a B-grade horror or sci-fi movie playing.

She had even talked him into taking a few dance classes with her. She was way out of his league in regard to that. The teacher would often times use her to help illustrate a new dance move for his class. She was more advanced, much more advanced. Every man in the class wanted to dance with her, but other than the teacher, Matt tended to be a bit selfish. Even messing up a move he could do just so she would put her hands on various parts of his body to show the right movements.

His fondest memory of their time dancing was when she pressed her back to him, then placing his hands on her hips said, "Just follow me." And she slowly went through each step. It had to be the most erotic experience he had ever had, in or out of bed. Then she upped the game and started moving her hips in a way that could only be interpreted as sexual, and Matt's body was more than willing to respond.

He still hadn't made his move. What if she wasn't interested? He had never been insecure with women, but CJ wasn't any ordinary woman. She was the one woman he HAD to have in his life, any way that she would allow him to have her.

Now, he was here, with a new challenge in their lives, and he did one thing he always did when someone he cared about was in trouble. He tried to figure out how to keep them safe.

He figured that To Mean wouldn't mind having some extra work thrown his way. He really should give him a call to get things rolling.

He moved the hair from JoJo face, and kissed her temple, then did the same with C.J.

"Mmm"

"Shhh…I'm just stepping outside to make a phone call. Let everyone know things are ok. Do you want anything?"

"You. Chocolate." She mumbled.

Houston chuckled. Well that was nice. He had a vision of her licking chocolate off his…. down boy. Not the time.

"With strawberries?"

He thought it was adorable when she scrunched up her sleepy face, never opening her eyes. Houston knew that she hated Fruit and Chocolate mixed. She had told him once that it was an abomination in her mouth, so every so often he would tease her about it.

"Milk or dark?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Bourbon dark." She mumbled.

"We are in a hospital, not sure if they will have that particular type." But it did no good since she was already back to sleep. He knew that this was very stressful on her

When he walked out of the room, he noticed a new guard. Houston tried to give him a friendly hello and got a nasty glare and grunt back. Houston just raised an eyebrow and made a note to keep an eye on the guard. Then he opened his phone and pressed "Special Contact To Mean." To Means number was six behind CJ, his Daddy, his cousin Will, his Uncle Roy, and Murry.

"Hey To Mean. Want to make some money?...Yes, of course I'm paying the full rate, expenses too…you are going to need some extra support…yes, yes…Durant, Oklahoma…what do you mean "what is a Durant, Oklahoma?...Just get here as soon as possible…Grab Daddy, Uncle Roy and Will with you, they are all gonna want to be here…Oh, and can you get a few bars…make that a whole box…of that Bourbon Dark chocolate that CJ loves…Thanks...ok see you then."

He terminated the phone call and went in search of chocolate that would satisfy her for the moment, but before he got two steps, he felt something was nagging him in the back of his mind. He looked down the hall and noticed that the guard was no longer outside the door.

Then, Houston heard a sound that he hoped to never hear again, a blood curdling scream from a child.

He took another look down the hall and realized that the guard was missing. He heard a young girl scream. He felt like he was running down an endless hall, worried that he wasn't going to get to them in time.

When he tried to get through but the door it was blocked from the inside. He kept trying to force the door with no luck. It wouldn't budge. He heard yelling, banging, loud crashes, the sound of bodies hitting objects such as beds, walls, even a window breaking, then a sickening thud.

"CJ…CJ…CJ…" he kept pounding on the door. Please be ok. Please, he begged God. Don't take her from me, don't take either of them.

CJ had woken when JoJo started screaming. She saw a police officer with a pillow poised over JoJo's face. She didn't stop to think, she just acted and kicked the officer from behind. He fell on JoJo but not for long. CJ pulled him off and across the room. In that split second, she saw the empty syringe sticking out of JoJo's IV. She ripped the IV out the girls arm just before the officer tackled her from behind.

She was stronger and more prepared than most women tended to be and most assailants would give her credit for. Houston had taken it upon himself to make sure she was well trained in many forms of martial arts. After her stint in Bannon County, she understood how important muscle memory was. So, she had worked that much harder.

One of her trainers made sure the class understood that if they were ever in a fight, it was going to hurt. Accept the fact that you were going to get hurt and keep going. The key was to make sure that the other person hurt more than you did when all was said and done. Also, once you accept that it is going to hurt, you are willing to do whatever it takes to survive.

Survive, that was exactly where she was right now. So, she put her whole body into every punch, scratch, kick, head butt, bite, as well as anything else she had to do to keep him away from JoJo.

She could hear Houston banging on the door and JoJo screaming from the bed. She couldn't understand why Houston wasn't there helping her. She made the mistake to look at the door and saw there was a doorstop wedged into the bottom keeping anyone from getting in. That bit of knowledge cost her. His fist connected with her face. Once, twice, she stumbled back, then came back at him fists and feet flying until he once again hit the wall with a thud, and he slid down the wall.

He heard something slide from the door, and it opened. He noticed CJ's back as she ran back to the bed to console her daughter. The poor girl quickly huddled herself against CJ. He noticed blood coming from her arm from where her IV had been pulled out. Nurses he didn't know came rushing in; two went to the CJ and Josephine, one went over to the man lying on the floor.

The doctor wasn't far behind. "What the…What happened in here?" Matt noticed that the doctor changed the direction of his words out of deference to the young girl.

Before anyone else could say anything, the nurse that was looking over the guard stood up and took charge. "Gold had this officer guarding the door." She stepped aside so the doctor could see who the battered officer was and didn't hold back on the single word that fell from his lips.

Houston found himself racing to CJ's side and enveloping both her and JoJo in his arms. JoJo was sobbing and trembling. Finally, the doctor gave her a sedative to help her relax and not hurt herself anymore.

"How is he?" he called behind him.

"Unconscious but breathing." She said. Matt could have sworn that the nurse sounded almost disappointed. Nah, he must of just imagined that.

The doctor started calling out what he was going to need and who to call to take the officer out of the room.

He heard a whimper from CJ. He went to her. The doctor checked her out. She had some bruising, a black eye and swollen lip to match her daughters. Even her knuckles were raw, bleeding, and her ribs were tender to the touch. His CJ fought. Fought for herself and her daughter. God, he loved this woman.

The doctor ordered a sedative for her as well while Houston did the deplorable act of documenting the room before the police came. He didn't' want there to be any discrepancies. He knew that this was going to make it all the more difficult to leave the area.

When the police arrived, Josephine had been sedated and checked out. No physical damage done past the pulling of her IV. The doctor was worried about CJ's injuries and wanted x-rays of her face and ribs. She didn't want to leave her JoJo, so Houston swore he wouldn't leave the little girl's side until she got back.

"Ho…uuu…ssttoooon" He heard CJ call him. "It is soooo…. …ddd" and she went trembling into his arms.

"Doc.." he yelled. "I think she may be going into shock."

"Bring her over here." He said indicating the empty bed.

Houston brought a shivering CJ and gently placed her on the bed. She wouldn't let him go. "Honey, let the doctor look at you."

"Her scccreammm woke me up."

Houston started stroking her hair.

He put a ppilloow oover heerr faacce"

"He what?"

"hhhheee tttrriied ttoo puut sssoommeettthhhinng IIIVV"

"You pulled her IV out?" the doctor asked.

She nodded shakily.

The nurse came up to the doctor and gave him a needle and he gave CJ the sedative. Then he went over and looked at the IV.

"Houston could video everything I'm about to do."

"Of course." And he brought his phone back up only in video mode.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Miles "he continued to explain what he was doing and why he was doing it.

Nurse Mills had been called over to witness what he was doing, in conjunction to Houston's video. He took the bag as well as the line and put it into a biohazard bag and sealed it. Noting the time, date and reason. Next, he started looking around until he found the syringe CJ had talked about. It had been knocked under one of the beds during the fight. The nurse signed it as well. Houston took pictures and the video from his phone, and quickly mailed them to himself, CJ, To Mean, and his Uncle Roy, just to be on the safe side. Then the doctor told nurse Mills to take the evidence to an independent lab in Sherman, Texas, and gave her the address and phone number.

When he turned back to Houston, he just said. "I don't want anything to happen to vital evidence. Just because we have a big-time casino, doesn't mean we aren't still a small town with all that comes with it. The good and the bad.

It was then that the police showed up demanding answers. The doctor wasn't willing to deal with any of them since he had patients to attend to, including the fallen officer.

"We need statements." Said one officer.

"They are going to have to wait. I have three patients to deal with, and I'm going to need my nurses help, and Mr. Houston is now the defacto guardian for both of my patients, Dr. Miles is working on Darryl Pike across the hall. You might want to call the Captain Pike and let him know that as soon as both patients are stabilized, I'm transferring Josephine Wells to Children's Hospital in Tulsa, which is where she should be anyway."

"Now, doc, you can't go transferring people…"

"She is a child. She needs to be at a children's hospital. It is obvious she isn't safe here."

"Now wait a minute, how do we know that that woman didn't lure Darryl over there into the room." The deputy stated.

"Why would CJ do that?" Houston was trying to keep his cool. It wasn't working very well.

"No how would I know what is going on inside a women's head. The little one already killed one brother, and your bitch just tried to kill the other."

"What did you just call her?"

"Now, now, Mr. Houston, no need to get riled up." He stated as he put a piece of chewing tobacco in his lip. "Doc, we are going to be putting the little lady in custody. Assault on a police officer. There is no way to get out of it, we are cuffing her to the bed.

Doctor West stopped Houston from throwing a punch at the deputy.

"Mr. Houston, your wife and that little girl need you to NOT be put in jail."

Houston violently pulled away and went towards the room where his girls were waiting.


	3. Chapter 3

_**I wrote this fast. I hope it makes sense. I guess if I'm going to keep writing, I'm going to need a beta. *sigh***_

_**Houston and CJ aren't mine I just play with them.**_

_**Any and all feedback are greatly appreciated.**_

_**If anyone is interested in more of my trip down memory lane, check out some of my other stories. I currently have four in process from my Fav TV shows growing up.**_

_**Thank you for reading.**_

_**All mistakes are mine.**_

Dr. Jacob Rothery stood outside the hospital room door. He had a driving need to hear his wife's voice.

"Hey Sexy." She answered.

"Hey Gorgeous." He replied with a smile.

"What's wrong?" she stated seriously. He could never keep anything from her, good thing he never really tried.

"Josephine Cobb." He replied.

"What happened?" she asked with concern.

"Captain Pike put Darryl to 'guard' her room." He heard her muttering explicates. His wife wasn't prone to coarse language, so the fact that a few had escaped her beautiful mouth were all the more potent in their use.

"What happened?" she finally asked, the anger in her voice radiating through the phone.

"From what I have gleaned, he tried to kill the girl." He stated with a sad sigh.

"I'll be there in twenty." She stated firmly. His wife was a petite redhead, and a total spitfire.

"You don't have to do that sweetheart."

"I'll be there in twenty. Jack and Mandy will be more than happy to watch the girls."

He could hear her getting up and gathering her things.

"I love you, I'll see you in a few." She said and hung up the phone. Despite what he said, he was glad she was coming. He had already called the Administrator to inform her about the incident and that he was putting his wife as primary for the girl, and he would be primary for the guardian. With the police being so involved and the way the investigation, he really wanted as few hands in the so-called pot as necessary and with the new development, it was getting even more complicated.

It was then that the portable x-ray unit was being wheeled into the room so he followed.

Matt Houston was still sitting with between the two.

"Mr. Houston…"

The man stood up. "Just call me Houston. Most do."

"Ok, Houston, I know that she is not your biological daughter, but she still seems to mean as much as if she were."

"The moment I found out how important she was to CJ, she became just as important to me. Truth be told, after what she had been through, she would still be important and I would try to help any way I could." He stated without taking his eyes off either female.

"We need to take some x-rays of your wife."

Huston nodded and went to the other side of JoJo. He didn't want her waking up without someone close by.

Once the technicians were done with the x-ray. "We will send the results to your phone in about twenty minutes." One stated to Dr. Rothery.

"Thank you, Colton."

"Is that the girl that the whole hospital is buzzing about?" he asked pointing to the small figure on the bed. "And she the guardian who laid Darryl low."

Dr. Rothery just nodded. "I don't have to remind you about privacy."

"Of course not. I heard some of the officers talking about the Captain trying to get the death penalty for the girl and life in prison for the woman." Colton stated.

"That is not going to happen." The stern quiet voice held no room for negotiations.

"We are all pulling for all of you, but Captain Pike isn't going to make it easy." Colton stated.

"He isn't the only one who can cause problems." Houston stated back.

Colton knew a dangerous man when he met on, and Matt Houston was, at this moment, very dangerous. He left with the knowledge that these women were in good hands.

"Houston, I have pain meds for both of them going through their IV's. I want to keep your wife sedated until I get the x-rays back. Unless I miss my guess, she had a couple of fractured ribs if not broken. Maybe even a bone fracture in her hands and left foot."

Houston had come back to the middle of both beds. "I have a few people coming in a few hours. Can you make sure that the nurses know to let them in. They will be with a man that goes by the name of Too Mean. I don't like the police guards on them, I want my own people."

"I understand and don't blame you. I wanted to let you know I'm bringing in another doctor, she was JoJo's original doctor in the ER. I want to keep the amount of people involved in this case as few as possible. I've already talked to the administrator and if it is ok with you, I'm going to have Regina Mills RN and a few of her nurses to take turns caring for your wife and daughter." Jacob looked down at his phone at the text message he just received. "She is here, I'll go get her."

Houston nodded as the doctor left. He had liked it when the doctor had called them his wife and daughter. Technically, he and CJ were still married. He played with the ring on his finger. The last case they had gotten married for show so they could infiltrate a Couples Retreat Spa where there were some less than scrupulous things were taking place. He and CJ had been able to bust a drug ring that was laundering money through the spa. Mostly it was CJ. She had figured out what was happening before he did and moved to stop it. She had kept the whole mess from turning into and out and out mess. It was one of their more sedate cases. No gun fights, no fights in general. They even took another few days to enjoy the spa. It was then that he realized he liked having her as his wife.

It wasn't as if anything had changed. They didn't have sex while they were there, although if he were honest with himself, he wanted to, but they still were close, they still hugged, they still had the hello and goodbye kisses, they still walked in sync with each other. He didn't have that with most women, but CJ fit like she was meant to be there.

He thought back on their lives together. Looking at her daughter, he realized there was so much that he didn't know about her. She knew almost everything about him, but she still surprised him. After twenty plus years of friendship, she still amazed him. Fighting off the cop that was trying to hurt JoJo was one of them. When he thought hard, he realized why they had never gotten together romantically. She didn't need him. He was always with either with easy women, or women who needed him. CJ was with him, his best friend, because she wanted to, not because she needed to. All this time, he realized, she had been taking care of him, he had needed her.

He hated needing people.

He didn't like the feeling. Somehow CJ had always understood that and was just there when he needed her. He never had to ask. Didn't have to ask when they were ten and she decked the kids who were bullying him, or when he came back broken from the war. He needed her and she was there, without question, giving him her love and acceptance without reservation. He needed her then, and he needed her now. He needed her to be his conscious, to solace, to be his sanity, to be all the things that he wasn't. He needed to have her love and friendship, her belief in him was to vital to his very being to let go of. They had joked about him having her favorite face when she had woken up from a bullet wound. In reality, she had his favorite face, she was his favorite everything.

And he knew she loved him. She had told him, as well as showed it every day they were together. He had always been so afraid to say it back. He hated being the one that needed instead of being needed. Because of her, he was able to help so many. Because she chose to love him, the only way he allowed her to, he was a better person.

She was the strongest person he knew. Her strength of will, her since of right and wrong, her willingness to help others strengthened him in ways he was still discovering. From what he had experienced, her daughter was so much like her. She had the inner strength that so resembled his CJ. How could he not have loved this girl?

He heard a moan coming from CJ's bed.

"Hey Beautiful."

"There's my favorite face." She gave him a drugged smile until she lifted her hand to touch him and hissed in pain.

"Careful, sweetheart. You might have a broken hand. Always knew you had a mean right hook. Remind me never to get you fighting angry with me. You took down a guy with, at least, eight inches, and at least eighty pounds on you." He smiled.

She gave him a worried look. "Couldn't let him hurt JoJo. JoJo?" she asked

"Right over here." He moved so she could see the girl.

"She ok? The syringe? The pillow?"

"She is fine. You got the IV out of her arm before whatever he put in there got a chance to have any effect on her. He never got a chance to hurt her, because of you."

He saw the tears of relieve starting to streak down her face. He gently wiped them from her good eye. He didn't want to cause her any more pain. "I'm so sorry you had to deal with that yourself. I should have followed my gut and not left the room. The…."

"Shh…It's ok. You didn't know anything like this was going to happen."

"God CJ. I was only gone for a few minutes. When I couldn't get into you, I have never been so scared in my life. If I lost you, I don't know what I would do."

"We will be ok." She said confidently. "I believe in you."

There it was. "I love you CJ."

"Love you too." She replied sleepily, the drugs still working in her system.

He knew that she didn't take it the way he meant it, but he would keep saying and showing her until she figured it out. For once in his life, he wasn't pursuing a woman for the chase, but for her to knowingly take her rightful place beside him…if that is what she wanted. Otherwise, he would do what she had done all these years, love her any way she would allow him to.

The doctor came back with another doctor by his side. Dr. Jacob Rothery was an older man, balding with graying dark fringe. He was muscular, athletic, in build, and about six feet tall. The woman next to him looked to be twenty years his junior, a curvy little thing, only 5'2"-5'3" at the most, stunning in her own way, and from the looks of it, her husband worshiped the ground she walked on.

He wondered if that was how he looked at CJ. So many had asked why he didn't marry her. He finally understood why so many asked that question, why so many girlfriends didn't like CJ or his relationship with her. They all saw what he never did, or what he had never allowed himself to see.

"Matt Houston, I would like you to meet my much better half, my wife, Dr. Janet Carter-Rothery."

She smiled and held out her hand. "Call me Janet. Carter-Rothery is a mouth full."

"Thank you, ma'am. Call me Houston."

"Jacob was getting me up to date on everything. I'm a Pediatric Surgeon by training, I was on call the night they brought Josephine in, that is why I was called in on her case. I also performed the abbreviated Rape Kit and the subsequent surgery to repair that tears to her vaginal and rectal area." She stated without her emotions leaking into her voice, but Matt as looking into her eyes, and they told him this case was very emotional for her. She had a kindness and a steel determination that mirrored her husband's. She took a deep breath and continued "We will need to monitor her progress, but I believe, physically, she should make a full recovery. In other words, if all goes well, she shouldn't have any physical barriers to, one day, having a normal sex life and, in the future, having children. We will know more in the coming days and weeks."

"We know an excellent physiatrist that would be more than willing to help both your daughter and your wife, especially if Captain Pike causes trouble with the situation. She would be a good ally in this situation." Dr. Rothery stated.

"Thank you, would she be willing to come to the hospital?" Houston asked.

"Of course, I just need to make a short call and she will be here. I already asked if it was something, she would be willing to help with, considering the ramification of getting on the bad side of the Police Chief. She was more than willing."

Matt nodded. Instead of calling, Jacob sent a quick text.

"Would it be alright to examine Josephine?" Janet asked.

All Matt could do was nod again.

Jacob and Janet look at each other and had one of those silent conversations that only people who knew each other well could have. He gave himself a small smile knowing that he and CJ had that kind of a relationship, then grimaced knowing he had been all kinds of stupid for not noticing sooner. He knew if CJ were privy to his thoughts right now, she would say to stop wallowing in guild and get your butt in gear and do something about it.

Jacobs phone pinged. "It's the x-rays." He stated as he looked them over. "Your wife is a lucky woman. With all the bruising, I was expecting much more structural damage."

"CJ knows how to take a punch. In our line of work, it is a necessary skill." He said absent mindedly.

"Well, it looks like she has only two fractured ribs, we will get them wrapped when she waked up again. Her hands have only have abrasions and muscular damage, I still want to wrap them for a day or so. Then a brace for a bit longer. Luckily it should only be her right hand. Considering the damage, she did to Darryl Pike…" he trailed off, not really wanting to talk about the other patient.

Houston smiled. That's my girl. He thought. Never backs down from a fight, whether it be horse, court, or bullies. She was always there in the thick of it. She had always been there. Never asking for anything, just there. He tried to tap down the guilt that threatened to surface again due to his stupidity. She was his partner, his champion, his cheering section…now he just needed to convince her to be his woman. More importantly, convince her to allow him to be her man.


	4. Chapter 4

**This one got a little long. More than likely, I should have made into two parts, but I liked the way things went the way it is. **

**As usual, all mistakes are mine.**

**As usual, Any and all feed back is welcome (hint hint)**

**As usual, thank you thank you thank you to all who have taken the time to review.**

**As usual, I hope you enjoy the story.**

**Chapter 4**

Houston was nodding off when he heard her voice. "Houston. Houston."

"CJ, sorry, are you ok?" he asked trying to shake the sleepy fog from his brain.

She smiled. He loved her smile. "I'm fine." then she gave a curious look at her hand. "Did I break it?"

"No, they put that on more to remind you to baby it for a few days than anything else." He smiled.

"You look exhausted. Come here. You can have the bed." She started to get up.

"No, your ribs are cracked. You need your rest." He stated closing his eyes again.

"Well, I'm not going to rest knowing that you are suffering. We can share." She stated as if it was the most innocent thing in the world for two attractive adults

"I'm not sure that is a good idea…." Especially when all he could think about right now is what it would be like to slip into her softness.

"Come on Cowboy, it isn't like we haven't shared a bed for the last three weeks." She said incredulously.

"Yeah, but it was a king size bed." He leaned in closer to her, his elbows resting on his knees, his head in his hands.

"And you ended up snuggled on my side of the bed by morning anyway. We are just going to start out that way." Her smile, even though her face was abused, did things to him.

"CJ…I don't want to hurt you." He said seriously. With everything going on, he didn't want to cause her any more pain. He wanted to take it all away.

"Then get your butt in bed so I can lean on you, my ribs are starting to ache."

Looking back at the times he had been given the opportunity to hold her, he could kick himself for not taking advantage of more of them. It seemed his unconscious self never had a problem snuggling up close and wrapping himself around her. As soon as he was asleep, his body just took the opportunity to gravitated over to her lithe frame and molded himself to her. It was a wonderful way to wake up, even if he had to work to keep his morning wood from grinding against her.

"You win." He finally said. He went to the other side of the bed, so that his back would be to the door and not hers, and she could still see JoJo, who was still sedated after her ordeals.

She scooted as far over as she could and turned her back to him. He took off his shoes and belt, and his shirt, leaving his undershirt on, then he pulled back the covers, and spooned himself behind her. "Lift up your head." he said in her ear.

She complied, and he put his arm under the pillow, bring them even closer. Then, once he was comfortable, he pulled her closer to him. With his arms carefully around her until there wasn't any space between them.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much." CJ responded with a yawn.

Just because she was in love with Houston, she wasn't stupid enough to think that he would be anything more than he was. He liked women. A lot. He had almost made it to the alter twice. She had smiled and tried to be a good friend, but she would be lying if she wasn't eternally grateful that both had ended without vows being spoken. In fact, the only marriage that went off without a hitch was thiers. Vows spoken, rings exchanged, paperwork signed, even a kiss for the bride. The kiss was toe curling. No wonder all those women kept coming after him.

"I love you, CJ." she heard whispered in her ear. She knew he did, but she was no better or worse than any other friend he would stick his neck out for, after all, that was why he was here, because they were friends.

"Love you too, Houston." she replied back. She knew that he would never take her love for what it really was. She had tried that once, and that was enough to know that it was a waste of time. Thankfully they had never talked about it. She could go on acting like it never happened. Her heart refused to take the hint.

He knew she didn't take it like he meant it, but that was ok. He would keep saying it until she figured it out. She was a smart woman. He had faith in her.

CJ's smile grew as she felt his arms go limp and the weight of him gently pressed comfortably against her. Even his light snore calmed her jumbled nerves. CJ loved the feel of him. She knew she shouldn't get so comfortable or find so much security in his arms, but she did. She couldn't help herself; she had always felt safe with him around. Yes, he had continually broken her heart on a regular basis for the last twenty years, but that wasn't his fault. It was hers for being in love with him. He had never seen her as anything but a friend, whereas she had built her life around him. She had thought when she went off to Harvard Law and met Carl, her feeling for Houston would have changed. They did, in part. Her life was still built around him. She could have gone anywhere, but she picked being with him, building a corporation with him, supporting him in his dreams.

Then there was Carl. Carl was a such a good man. She loved him. She really did. And if he would have asked, she more than likely would have married him. But instead of living happily with her second choice, and yes Carl was her second choice, he had been killed by a psychopath from her high school days.

It was like the Universe was contriving to keep her from any happiness. It was as though the more she excelled in her professional life, the more of a disaster her personal life became. She was in love with her best friend, who had no interest in her, then there was a man who was interested, but was killed, then the whole disaster with Robert Tyler. That was a whole can of worms that it will take her therapist years to figure out.

CJ took his arm from around her waist to between her breast and snuggled it like a teddy bear and closed her eyes trying to think too much about what she was doing, and how much emotional pain she was going to have to deal with, alone, when he broke her heart again. She just wanted to enjoy these moments and let tomorrow take care of itself.

She woke a few hours later with a full bladder. She didn't want to move, his arms were so wonderful, she had loved waking up with him the past few weeks. His smell, his solid form behind her, the feel of his breath on her neck, she had even secretly relished his morning erection grinding against her before his head was clear enough to know that it was her, someone he had no interest having sex with. It seemed that it wasn't just for mornings, if what she was feeling was any indication, she thought as she let herself push against him and enjoyed his hardness pushing back. She almost came when he let out a moan that emitted from deep inside him, and his hands pulled her hips tighter against him. She knew that it didn't mean anything, but my goodness it felt good. Unconscious Matt Houston didn't seem to have a problem with her, then again, she reasoned, she was pretty sure that any warm female body was just as good as another. Something about her just didn't appeal to him in a conscious state. She didn't know what it is she was lacking, but it seemed to be major enough for him not to… relieve his frustrations with her. Yeah, any female will due, except her, it seemed.

She had finally extradited herself from his embrace, she really did need to pee, and made her way to the bathroom. She didn't turn on the light in the because she didn't want to disturb the sleeping people in the other room. She fiddled with the rings on her finger, remembering what it was like to pretend to be the lovingly besotted couple just so another crazy would target them instead of some other innocent couple.

She had liked being Mrs. Matt Houston. CJ Parsons-Houston. She had to grin when she told him that she wasn't going to take his name. She had reminded him that she had made a good name for herself under Parsons, professionally it would just be easier to keep her own name, there was no logical reason for her to change to Houston when Parsons was what everyone knew her by. After all, no one would actually believe she would change her name after all her success. Not with the number of awards she has received in both California and Texas, as well as various national awards. To tell the truth she had more awards for her work than Houston did, but she wasn't going to point that out.

He seemed genuinely hurt that she wouldn't take his name. Good greif, it was only a case, it wasn't like it was real. Eventually she compromised by hyphenating it. She wasn't all that thrilled at how it sounded. Parsons-Houston had no flow to it whatsoever, but she wasn't willing to give any more ground in their very real, pretend marriage. He had been quick to accept her terms. She had told him she expected this to look like a real marriage, in other words, no other women. No wondering eye, no stray glances, no talking to close, no flirting, she refused to be humiliated in such a way, even if it was pretend. He had seemed more than eager to play the doting husband.

She knew that if they had gotten married because they wanted to be together, she would have had CJ Parsons for her professional life, and the rest of the time she would have been more than happy to be CJ Houston…but she wasn't about to tell him that.

They hadn't even been back an hour when they had gotten the call about JoJo, there hadn't been time to get the marriage annulled. She didn't mind. She knew one day they would need to face up to dissolving the marriage. One day soon she would have to give him up, give up his attention, his sleeping form next to her, but until then, she liked being able to claim him as hers, even if it wasn't real.

Too Mean had gotten to the hospital in record time. Will and Roy were right behind him. How dare anyone, ANYONE, hurt one of his people. He wasn't called Too Mean for his sweet fluffiness after all. No, he was Too Mean because he was one mean muther when he needed to be.

Right now, he was trying to tap down his anger at the situation. He had to jump through a few hoops just to get to this floor. The Hospital had brought in their own security due to the events that had transpired. He guessed all things considered, that was a good measure by the hospital.

It seemed, the cops in this city were too busy trying to hurt his people and cover up whatever it is they were doing, and not protecting people like they should. Too Mean had brought five others with him, and a few others were on the way. These were people he trusted, people he had worked with before, people that the knew would have his back and take care of Matt, CJ, and the little girl.

A little girl. Too Mean couldn't believe it when he had read the report given by the doctors and other medical personnel, in comparison to the reports given by the officers in charge. All of it smacked of cover ups. Well, they picked the wrong people to mess with if they wanted to cover up this mess. His friends were going to be protected, even if he had to take on the whole police department of this little no nothing town. He had made a few phone calls of his own, knowing that something like this was going to hit the national, if not international press. He knew that Houston was going to be preoccupied with keeping CJ safe, so he had called Chris and got the numbers from her.

She was the one that got all the plane reservations ready and made all the schedules work as if they were meant to. She was scary good at what she did. Too bad that Houston already had her employed. He could use someone like her with his growing business.

When the elevator dinged open, the nurses' station was directly in front of them. One beautiful, but terrifying, nurse was standing with her arms crossed in front of them.

"Names and ID please." She requested sternly. No one was willing to cross this woman. Even his men, all big, broad, with a talent for survival and protection, meekly whipped out their ID and gave it to the woman.

"Roy Houston." she methodically checked to make sure his ID was real. Hell, Too Mean thought, Maybe I can lure her away from these back woods place.

"Will Houston."

She gave each man back their ID one by one after checking their names on the list that was provided to her of people that were allowed to be on the unit. She looked over each man and woman that was present. Once she was done, she sighed relief, and smiled.

Will noticed the smile. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"My name is Regina Mills, I'm the head nurse on this floor. Misters Houston and Mr. Malone, if you will follow me. I'll show you to their room. The rest of you will need to wait here for a few minutes."

Too Mean signaled his people to check out the rest of the floor and make sure that all entrance and exits were secure.

"Nurse Mills, I'll follow you anywhere." Will said. He had honestly thought that he hadn't said it out loud, but when the nurse in question turned and gave him a brilliant smile, he knew he had.

"I'll keep that in mind Mr. Houston." she said with a wink.

Will stood stock still for a split second before he caught up again with Too Mean and his father. Due to his time as a POW, he was still out of it as to dealing with the opposite sex. Downright shy. He had one relationship, and well, that was less than stellar. She had taken him for all his money. He had forgiven her, but he didn't trust his instincts about women. Having twelve of your life taken from you can wreak havoc with one's ability to trust one's self as well as others. But this goddess made him want to try again.

Said goddess, was a petite brunette with short hair that sort of flipped up at the ends, her dark eyes had made him want to stare at them until they unveiled their secrets, and her tight little body looked good, even in scrubs. He had an unbidden vision of her walking around in nothing but one of his dress shirts and a smile. He wondered if her legs were as gorgeous as his vision depicted.

"Let me go in first, I don't want Josephine to be frightened by people she doesn't know. She had been through enough as it is."

They all nodded.

CJ heard voices outside of the room. She automatically looked for a weapon, but before she could locate one, she saw Nurse Mills walk through the door and breathed a sigh of relief..

"Hey." She whispered to the other woman.

"Oh, there you are. I see you gave up your bed for a little while."

"He wasn't comfortable on the chair. Finally talked him into sharing the bed."

Regina looked at the woman, then looked at her husband and wondered how both of them fit in such a confined space. They must be in love. The thought of having a man draped over her was a suffocating thought. Although, that Will Houston could possibly make her rethink her opinion. She smiled.

"You have some visitors. A Mr. Malone and Roy and Will Houston."

"Oh, good, I'll come out. I want to let them rest a little longer."

Regina noticed that Mrs. Houston winced more than once during their short conversation.

"How bad is the pain?" she asked.

"I'm fine." CJ tried to dismiss the question.

"That wasn't the question. Now, stop putting up a fuss. So, 1-10, How bad is the pain?"

"Eight and a half."

"I'll get you something for it."

CJ just simply nodded. She had to admit, it was a good idea. Regina then walked out of the room with CJ not to far behind.

"Be careful. She had been through a lot and is in pain. Don't cause her anymore with any enthusiastic greeting."

"Now, Nurse Mills, how do you know that we would cause her pain?"

"Because all of you look like the hugging type. She can use the affection, just don't get overzealous." Then walked off to get the pain meds for her patient.

Will looked at CJ and wanted to cry. Her face was battered and bruised, her eye was a not so pretty shade of purple. "Hey girl, what does the other guy look like."

"Unconscious." She tried to smile through her busted lip.

"That's my girl." Will grinned.

She gave him a big grin, but it only made everyone wince. "Do I really look that bad?"

"Honey, you are beautiful inside and out." Roy stated.

"Oh wow, really bad then." She sighed.

"I'd still kiss you." Will winked at her.

"Now I know it looks bad. Pity kisses? Really Will?" Just then Nurse Mills came up and gave her a paper cup with her meds and a large cup of water to wash them down with.

"I don't know hun, I'd take pity kisses from someone as good looking as him any day." Regina gave Will another flirty grin. She watched a he blushed and dropped his, finding the floor fascinating. He was just so easy to fluster, she thought. She hadn't had this much fun with a man in a long time.

Will just kept blushing and looking at the ground. Too Mean, Roy, and CJ just laughed.

The laughter abruptly stopped when CJ hissed in pain.

"What is it, little sis?" Too Mean asked.

"Cracked ribs." She stated trying to breathe through the pain.

"Where is Houston?" Roy asked.

"I finally got him to take a nap on the bed. He has been out for about," She looked at her watch, "Wow, five hours."

"I heard there was a little girl involved."

"Yes, her name is Josephine Cassandra Cobb. She is eleven years old and…she's my daughter."

The men looked among themselves.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I know there is an interesting story in there somewhere." Will grinned. He made the mistake of looking at Nurse Mills after he said it and got all flustered again. It was so easy to talk to CJ, but other women, pretty women, especially the one in front of him, was so difficult. He got all tongue tied. Her dark eyes seem to pierce right to his soul. His palms itched to touch her. He wondered if Matt had ever felt this way about CJ.

Of course, he knew his cousin was in love with their favorite lawyer. There was even a pool going on when they would get together. Will knew the reason why Matt hesitated, his reasons were stupid, but they were his reasons. He had even threatened that if Matt didn't step up to the plate, he was going to go after CJ himself. A good woman was very hard to find.

Will had grinned, when a few days after that conversation, Matt had taken the Honeymoon Resort Case. A case where Matt would be playing CJ's loving and devoted husband. He had wondered how that went. Had they had gotten over their issues about being romantically involved? Had they finally become a couple?

It was so hard to tell with those two. They tended to act like a married couple anyway. They were always touching each other, kissing hello and goodbye, always putting each other first. Even when he and Matt went fishing, half the time his cousin would be wondering why CJ hadn't come. Will had vowed never again would he go fishing with Matt without CJ along for the ride.

He had no problem with fishing with CJ, except that she always got the biggest fish. And never just one big fish, but three or four. She would always stop after four because there was no way they would be able to eat much more. Nothing phased her, not worms, not bucking broncos, not slimy fish scales. Not only could she fish, she could hunt as well. Most women would be quizzy about skinning a rabbit and prepping it to be cooked, but not CJ. She could run, swim, hike, and fight with the best of them. Luckily, she couldn't throw, catch, or hit worth anything.

Will wondered if Regina would like to go fishing with them? He hoped so.

It was then that he noticed CJ getting a little unstable on her feet. "Come on CJ, lets kick Houston out of bed, and get you into it. "

When CJ didn't have a witty comeback, he knew that she was in bad shape.

He motioned to his dad and Too Mean that he was taking her in the room.

"You know Will, Nurse Mills is really great. You should ask her out." There was a slight slur to her words. He had only been around CJ drunk once, and this was bringing back memories.

"I'll get right on that as soon as you jump Matt."

Her eyes got huge when she turned towards him, "I can't do that, he would hate me forever."

He caressed the undamaged side of her face, "No man could hate it when the beautiful woman he is in love with wants to have sex with him."

"That! WILL! Is the whole problem. He isn't in love with me. To Matt, I might as well have a penis. He is more attracted to…um…a bucket of night crawlers than he is to me."

Will had noticed a slight flinch of the man on the bed and knew that Matt was listening to everything that was being said. He decided to have some fun with his cuz since his girl was in such an honest mood.

"What do you want from Matt?" he asked.

"Short term or long term?" CJ asked back, enjoying the freedom from the pain that the drugs were giving her.

"Both, short term first." He saw the blush run down her face and across the visible area of her chest. Will, being a guy, wondered how much farther it ran.

"Hmmm. Short term, I would be happy with lots of really hot, orgasm filled, hard pounding, mind numbing sex. In bed, against the wall, in the hot tub, on the pool table, his desk, my desk, various cars, then we would take showers and start all over again. Hot and hard, slow and smooth, maybe even work with a rope or two." Her eyes were glazed over, and she was chewing at her lip bit seeming to be envisioning each location.

It was Will's turn to blush. Her talking about sex was having an unexpected effect on him. He cleared his voice. "And long term?"

Suddenly CJ's demeanor completely changed. Gone was the happy glint in her eye, the longing in her voice, the mischievous smirk, in its place was a woman without hope. "It really doesn't matter."

He couldn't let her clam up now. They were so close. He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. He saw the tears that were starting to form, and part of him wanted to stop, but the happiness of two of his favorite people was hanging in the balance. "Of course, it matters. You matter. To all of us."

"But what good is it to want…" She looked at the ring on her hand "want for this ring to actually mean something to him, want for him to actually want to be my husband, to want to have a family with him, to want to carry and bare his children. To want him to want me. What good does any of do to want what I can't have. I can't make him love me, and I wouldn't want to. I just wish I knew what was so wrong with me that he can't love me, see me as more than just his friend, but as a woman who loves him, as someone he could love." She was full on crying when she suddenly stopped.  
"Ahh…Will…" panic creeping into her voice.

"Yeah CJ"

"Please catch me." She requested just before she collapsed.

He picked her up carefully in his arms. "Matt, move it. She just passed out from the pain pill the nurse gave her."


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, this is a quick one, just because I got such nice reviews. :)**

**I tried something different, I hope it comes through understandably. Let me know it is just to confusing.**

**Not sure when I'll get back to this. Marry Me and The Fall are begging to be ended and Against the Odds just got weird and I have to figure out what I got myself into with that one. **

**but it is always about which story wants to get written. SO who knows.**

**So, lets say it together:**

**Matt Houston is not mine**

**Mistakes are!**

**And Feedback is Awesome**

Will had watched her for the last twenty minutes. He had tried not to watch her, he really did, but no matter what he was doing or who he was talking to, he just seemed to know she exactly where she was and his eyes always seemed to find her in an instant. He had given up trying to not watch her, and was now just trying not to be a creepy stalker. She was just so enchanting it made his heart ache; he just didn't know what to do about it until he saw her hang up the phone, her face pale as she and pulled out her cell phone.

"Hey, Regina?" Will tried to get her attention.

When she finally looked at him, he could see unshed tears welling up in her eyes. Something was wrong, very wrong. Some instinct inside of him attested to the fact that this woman didn't cry easily. He wanted nothing more than to dry her tears and banish whatever caused them.

"It's nothing Mr. Houston." She said. Her words had come out crisp and clear as one would expect from one in authority, but her eyes betrayed her. Her eyes told him that she was scared. More scared than she had ever been. Something in that phone call had turned her world upside down,

"It's Will. Look, I know we haven't known each other long, but I know fear when I see it. I spent twelve years seeing it in the eyes of every person I came in contact with as well as having it as my constant companion. My gut is telling me that you, my love, are deeply afraid of something."

The flood gates opened, and this amazing woman fell into his arms and sobbed. Held her close and rocked her for a few moments before she pulled away. "My kids, Henry and Emma. I just got a call from an unknown number. The person on the other end said that if I didn't help get rid of your friends that my children would pay the price. I just tried calling each of their cell phones and the house and no one is picking up. I don't know what to do."

Will thought of all sorts of expletives but said none. It was then that Dr. Rothery came running up to them.

"Regina, I just got a call from Jack, he said that Henry and Emma are with them. Something freaked them out at your house, so they went to Jack and Many's. That is why Mandy hadn't been able to get here for CJ and JoJo. Jack wanted to check out your house. It seems he just missed a break in."

"Oh, god. But the kids are ok?"

Jacob nodded.

"When I got the phone call…I thought…"

"What phone call?"

Will explained. Jacob Rothery had the same reaction as he did.

"Jacob!" Janet came running down the hall with her phone in hand. "I just got a call."

"I need to talk to my dad and Houston. What is going on in this town? I'm thinking we need to get the kids here."

The three medical staff personnel nodded. "They are already on their way." Jacob said as Regina and Janet started down the hall with Will.

The floor had long since been cleared of other patients due to the possibility of more problems between the police and the current patients occupying room 503. Monday seemed like such a long way away. No one was sure about what was going to happen. Will couldn't believe this nightmare started only two days ago and so much had changed. Will slipped into 503 with a nod form one of Too Mean's men. He was met by Houston, another security person, with guns pulled, and CJ with his Dad on the ready to protect JoJo if necessary.

"Just me guys." Hands held up.

"Hey Will." Houston said putting his gun away, Too Mean must have gotten it to him, and sitting back down on the edge of the bed. It seemed that the three of them, with his dad, were playing cards. Go Fish if he was not mistaken, and JoJo was winning. The swelling had gone down and the split lips were scabbing over on both females. It was sad that they looked worse than when it happened.

CJ still held her side a bit, and JoJo was only able to get up for small amounts of time. It was important that she did, it would help with her healing, but she was still in considerable pain. Her arms and neck still shown the evidence of her horrific experience. Sitting there, surrounded by CJ and Matt, she seemed to be ok. She was smiling and having a good time with her new 'parents'. Will was unequally qualified to see, the pain of loss and the fear of what would come next, scratching away just under the surface.

"Regina and the Doc's just got calls threatening their kids if they didn't stop protecting you guys." He rushed out. "Regina's kids ran the where the Rothery kids were. They are all on their way here. At least they will be all in one place, and hopefully easier to protect."

"Good call son." His dad said putting had on his shoulder.

CJ mind was a riot of thoughts. What in the world had Cami and Thom gotten themselves into? They were stuck here for now since it wasn't good for JoJo to be move due to her injuries. Even though Too Mean's people were on the floor at each of the exits, and the hospital had hired some extra security for the main entrance and as well as the elevators and stairs, the police had insisted on their people being part of the security detail. So intermixed with the hospital security was DPD officers. She hated not being able to trust the police, but if her stint in Bannon County taught her anything, it was that just because you wear the uniform, doesn't mean you are one of the good guys. Her logical mind told her that most police officers were good and honorable people, but the adage about a few bad apples…

CJ went to the window and looked out. The sun had risen, but one couldn't tell by the dreariness of the weather, it seemed to match her spirits. She felt Matt behind her, his hands on her hips letting her know that she could lean back if she wanted to, and he would catch her. It was an old familiar thing that they did. It was rough times like this that she took so much comfort in their odd familiarity of each other.

She leaned back, and he wrapped his arms around her. He buried his face in her hair and kissed the side of her head. This was a deep-rooted dance for them. Rooted deep in their souls was the knowledge that this one person was an essential part of you. That this one person made you whole. The tragic side of such a thing is the terror of ever losing the other person. It seemed that it didn't really matter who needed whom, they always knew this would be their comfort, where they drew strength, from this simple embrace. It spoke of things that words only jumbled and ruined. This was a pure expression of love and relief.

Unknown to them, the fate of them both were written upon the DNA of the universe, that there was no Matt Houston without CJ Parsons, and no CJ Parsons without Matt Houston.

JoJo was fascinated by the two adults. "Do they always speak without talking?" she asked Roy.

"Since they were kids." Roy replied.

"Mom and Dad would do that too. I had never seen anyone else do it though. I thought they were freaks or something."

"It's trust, respect, and most importantly, it's love." He said quietly.

JoJo sat there watching. She missed her parents so much. She missed the way they would embarrass her by kissing in public, especially when they kissed her, or said I love you, or any number of other things that parents do that embarrass the kids they love. She missed how they loved each other. She missed being enveloped in that warmth. Aunt Cassie was and island of comfort for her in the uncertainty of the world that she had been thrown into since her parents were murdered just two days ago.

It seemed so much longer that she had been without them. It seemed like forever. Her young mind was just now starting to understand what it meant to have them gone. Without Aunt Cassie, she would be totally alone. Her thoughts started to spiral, would Aunt Cassie even want to keep her. That was something she had never even thought to ask. Aunt Cassie had given her away once, maybe she didn't want her at all.

She wanted Aunt Cassie to want her. She wanted Houston to want her and Aunt Cassie. She wanted Uncle Roy, Will, and Too Mean to be part of her family. She wanted them to want her. The tears came unfettered to her eyes and washed down her face.

She was broken, she jumped at every unexpected thing, at every unexpected sound. She had caused so much trouble already, why would anyone want her? Want someone who would turn their lives upside down. She suddenly hated meeting new people, she was scared of every person who walked in the door. She tried to hide it, but Aunt Cassie had taken to always being with her when new people were around. Holding her aunt's hand gave her the ability to know who her aunt trusted and who she didn't.

Matt reminded her of her father. Funny, easy going, and overprotective. She had never appreciated her father being overprotective, he and her mom had died trying to protect her. It was her fault. If she didn't exist, Aunt Cassie wouldn't have been hurt, and….

"What is it squirt?" Will asked sitting next to her handing her some tissue. This just seemed to be his day to have women cry around him.

CJ and Houston turned towards the girl. CJ was by her side in a moment.

"They died because of me. How could anyone want me now…I'm….I'm going to be alone…nobody will want to be around me…." She sobbed as she curled herself into a ball rocking back and forth.

The declaration stabbed CJ to the heart. She pulled the girl away so she could look the girl in the face. With her best lawyer tone said "Josephine Cassandra Cobb, you did not…did not have anything to do with what happened to your parents."

"They died trying to protect me. They died because of me." She whimpered.

"NO, they died because someone came into your house and killed them. The men that came into your home did that. Not you. That is on them. They are the ones to blame, not you. Do you understand me? Your Mom and Dad loved you more than you will ever understand, and they died doing what they were so good at, loving you, protecting you, but that does't make their deaths your fault." She pulled the little girl into her arms.

JoJo's little shoulders were still shuttering. "I kill those guys. They are going to put me in jail for murder. They said so. I heard the cops, they said I'm a murder. They said I was going to get the needle for what I did."

"They will do no such thing." Came a strong feminine voice.

All the men got up to defend CJ and JoJo if necessary.

Roy stepped up, "Hello Angela, good to see you."

"Hey Roy. Glad you called. Sorry it is for such a reason as this."

"I know, but I only want the best, and it seemed my two girls are getting railroaded."

"I couldn't agree more."

"Uncle Roy, who is this?"

"I'm sorry." The new woman said. "Angela Clay, attorney at law. Roy asked me to represent" Looking at her paper work, "one Cassandra Josephine Parsons" Matt, CJ, and Will all cringed at the same time knowing how much CJ hated her full name. "and Josephine Cassandra Cobb. So, if all of you don't mind, I would like to speak with my clients. It was good to see you again Roy, I'll tell dad you said Hi." She smirked.

"You do that and him he still owes me ten bucks."

She laughed, "To hear him tell it, you owe him."

Roy smiled and started to shoe everyone out of the room.

Angela noticed the silent conversation by a man and who she assumed was Cassandra Parsons. They were having one of those silent conversations that only people who know each other very well are capable of having. She did notice that the woman was telling the man that he should leave and that she would be ok, and yes, she would hit the call button if there was a need, and then the eyeroll and the grin that spoke volumes about both parties. He was a protective sort, and even though she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but she liked that he liked to take care of her.

"Mr?"

"Houston." The man said back.

"You must be Matt. Roy has spoken of you often." She smiled.

"How do you know my Uncle?" Matt asked suspiciously.

"He and my father worked together often in the company."

Matt raised an eyebrow.

"You don't have to worry about them. I just need to find out a few things, then they can let me know whom I can discuss various things with, and what exactly I'm allowed to discuss."

Angela watched as Cassandra squeezed his hand and looked up at him.

The conversation ensued.

His 'I hate to leave you'

Her 'I know'

His 'are you sure?'

Her 'yes'

Then his acquiescing 'ok but I don't like it' and the kiss her on the side of her head 'I love you, stay safe'

Her holding his head to her 'I love you too, I will.'

Then he left.

When the door closed behind him, she turned to her clients. "Roy say you guy have stepped into a bit of trouble. Sorry it took so long for me to get here, I live Austin, but since Oklahoma is Texas' redheaded stepchild, every Texas worth their salt makes sure to be licensed to work in Oklahoma. But I guess I don't have to tell you." Looking at CJ. "Cassandra, you don't have to worry, I'm very good at what I do."

CJ nodded. "I've heard your name bandied about. And it is CJ."

"Wait a minute, you are CJ Parsons? I'll kill him." She was a bit miffed.

"Who?"

"Roy. He could have told me I would be representing you of all people. I've heard your name….bandied about…as well." She smirked.

The name CJ Parsons had been more than bandied about, it had been spoken with awe and respect trough out most of Texas, and if her accolades in L.A. were any indication, she was fast becoming well respect there as well. She was a woman of great repute all over Texas. She had helped on many high-profile cases, even sat first chair on a few. She was a force to be reckoned with in the court room. She was smart, quick, and ruthlessly tenacious in exposing the truth. Even some of her closing arguments had ended up as study material even though the woman in front of her wasn't much older than she was, she was just that good.

"Roy, that snake, just gave me the case numbers. When I pulled the records, which is never easy on the weekends, I didn't equate Cassandra Josephine with CJ. Sorry about that, it is a pleasure to meet you." Angela held out her hand trying not to sound in awe of the woman in front of her.

"Am I correct in assuming you were going to represent Josephine before you needed representation yourself?"

CJ nodded.

"I've looked over the case. The DA is dragging its feet about taking this to court or not. From everything I've seen, they would be crazy to do so. If we can't get it thrown out, I will petition for change of venue. There is no way either of you are going to get a fair trial here when the Police are here to destroy you. I know that if Captain Pike was desperate enough to use his sons to do something, you can bet that Conner Morton had something to do with it."

"Who is Connor Morton?"

"Just the head of this area's equivalent of the Mob." Angela stated. "and if Connor is involved, that would explain why these charges seem excessively harsh. Were either one of you actually arrested, read your rights?"

Both shook their heads. "They threatened to, but nothing ever happened other than their presence in the hospital.

"That's good. That means that as soon as the medical staff releases you, you can go."

CJ Nodded. "I think that Roy called you as more of a precaution."

"Oh, I know he did. If Connor Morton is involved, you have a lot more to worry about than a pissed of Police Captain. First, I want to hear everything from the two of you."

JoJo and CJ told their stories, Angela took notes, then CJ told her about the threats to the medical staff.

"Well crap."

"Kind of my reaction as well."

"Morton has to be involved. It is possible we could go after all of them, but there is no guarantee that many good people are going to get hurt, especially since the legal system is in the Mob's pocket."

"The whole system?"

"Pretty much. There are some good officers and judges, but the Mob controls everything from trash pick up to health department, to the food and beverage commission. About the only thing that they don't control is the Choctaw Nation."

"The CPS worker said something about taking things to tribal court." CJ stated.

"That is an option. I'll have to do a bit more research."

There was a knock at the door and Nurse Mills came in. CJ looked into the woman's red rimmed eyes and knew there were so many more good people they needed to protect. Her first priority was JoJo, but that didn't mean that others needed to be left out.

"It's time for JoJo's pain meds and her anti biotics to be changed."

CJ nodded. "Did your kids get here ok?"

Regina nodded. "As well as the Rothery girls, and Nurse Stone's boys and husband. Will and Matt thought it would be best if everyone who has children and spouses be brought here. I'm personally grateful that none of us have aging parents to worry about. We have made up some of the other rooms one this floor for them."

CJ needed to talk to Matt. She waited until the meds were working on JoJo and she was sound asleep before she left to find him.

She didn't have to look far, he was sitting in a chair right outside the room.

"So, what's the plan?" she asked knowingly.

"What makes you think I have a plan?"

Everyone started gathering around them to find out what was going on.

She crossed her arms.

Her silent 'you might as well tell me' loud and clear.

His 'I don't have one, I'm working on it.' Much less confident as he ran his hand through his hair.

Her 'we aren't leaving anyone behind' was pointed and audacious.

His 'thank God' was of relief.

'Jet?'

'Maybe?'

'Don't stall Houston, we need to get everyone out of here now.'

'I know' his hands on his hips

'No, you don't. This is bigger than we thought.' Mirroring his actions.

'Really?' his arms at his sides. 'how much?'

'Really big' was written in her eyes.

Deep breath, 'Really'

Sadness filled her eyes. 'Really'

'Tomorrow Morning good enough?'

'Sure, but how?' She willingly went into his arms when he pulled her to him.

'Have I ever let you down?' rubbing the top of her head with his chin.

She had to chuckle, 'do you really want me to answer that?'

Looking at her, 'Ok fine, when it counted.'

'You have a point.' She shrugged then reached up and kissed his cheek.

'Love you.' Hugging her close

'Love you too.' Hugging him back.

Regina leaned over to Will and whispered, "did you get any of that?"

Will leaned closer to Regina. "I think we have the start of a plan. Either that or CJ wants cheese cake."

That was when Will heard the most beautiful sound of his entire life. Regina's Laugh.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok, you can thank those who have given feedback on this story for another chapter. I WAS going to work on my other ones, and I did, but when this Chapter ended up at over 5000 words, I figured that I should break it up into two parts. I'm working on the second part and will get it up some time next week if all goes well. Both my boys are having birthdays this month, so who knows what is going to happen with my writing.**

**I don't know where or why I ended up with so many extraneous characters, but they seem very bend on staying, so we shall see what will happen. I am hoping to focus considerably more on CJ/Matt and Will/Regina in the next few chapters...if the others cooperated that is. **

**Reviews seem to make me write faster...take that for what it is.**

**All mistakes are still and always be mine.**

Chapter 6

Regina's laugh was interrupted by Nurse Stone running down the hall. "Everyone, you have to see this." She yelled as she ran into one of the empty rooms and turned on the TV.

"The Residents of Skyline Estates are running in fear as a hot burning fire has engulfed four blocks of the large homes as well as the 1700 block of Wisteria Lane which house the upscale Starline town homes. Seven people have been confirmed dead, including three children. One of the homes was in the news earlier as the location of the killing of the son of Captain Pike, DPD Chief.

The Anchor person cut in. "this just in, it is said that the blaze was started by a terrorist group that had moved to the area seven years ago. These include various members of the community, medical personal, lawyers, even a teacher. The police chief has stated that the people responsible for one of his son's death, and the other beaten and put in the hospital are hold up on the 5th floor of the Durant Hospital. They have armed personal and the rest of the hospital has been evacuated, with TMC and Wilson and Jones taking the patients.

The Chief goes on to stated that no one knows exactly what their agenda is, and the police believe that they started whatever plans they had for our area. The Chief speculated that Lake Texoma Dam is the most likely target and is now on high alert due to that possibility.

Durant Police Chief Duane Pike was tearful as he gave his comments due to recent family tragedies. Back to you Laura."

The TV continued to recount what was already said as well as showing the devastation of the fires. Then cutting to the hospital being surrounded by police.

CJ noticed Cami and Thom's house almost reduced to rubble. She reached for Houston's hand. It was exactly where she expected it to be.

"Why?" She asked. She thought of the little girl in the room just a short distance away.

It was at that moment that Houston's phone rang. CJ watched as he walked a few paces away to take the call. She couldn't take her eyes off him. When his back straightened with tension, she knew something was wrong. He closed the call, put his phone away, and promptly punched the wall.

CJ put her hand on his shoulder.

"That was Murry. Someone bombed Houston industries."

"Was anyone hurt?" She asked, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"No, it was early this morning. All night security accounted for. That isn't all. Both our homes are on fire as well. We just aren't making national news. Murry has started the insurance procedures but…."

"Shhh…" she said as she wrapped herself around him. He wanted to crush her to him and didn't in deference to her cracked ribs.

None of this made any sense. Why was Cami and Thom killed, what had they must have gotten into something big. All they knew is that they were all being framed for, it seemed, everything.

Regina and Stone had left the group, needing their families around them. Will, Janet, and Mandy, followed Regina. With one quick look and nod from their husbands, they were off. Will wasn't sure what kind of help he could be, but he felt the driving need to protect his woman. Well, the thought to himself, that is a tidbit of information he was going to have to stay quiet about.

Too Mean cleared his throat. "I guess this is as good a time as any to let you know that we have had to barricade the doors because we have had heavily armed visitors. We have been barricading the exits and disabling the elevators.

"Well people, this changes a few things. I'm guessing Morton thinks that someone here knows something or using this as a warning to make sure you don't talk."

"I'm guessing this goes beyond Morton and Pike." Roy stated.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if I don't miss my guess, something had happened in California, this is bigger than some small mob boss here in Durant, Oklahoma."

"We don't know anything." CJ said from behind them.

"It doesn't matter. They think you do." Angela replied.

CJ thought for a moment then ran back into the room that JoJo was in.

Everyone looked at Matt who could only shrug.

CJ came back with a small padded envelope. She was in the process of ripping it open when she said, "I got this just before we got married." She stated looking at Matt "I figured it was pictures of the last time I was there, plus all some extra files that I hadn't had time to review. Then we got the call about their murder, I guess I just stuffed it in my purse when we left, completely forgot I had it." She pulled out a small thumb drive. It looked like a Wonder Woman key chain. She laughed when she saw had tears in her eyes.

"Cami started calling me Wonder Woman after the first time I got shot saying that I needed to use my bullet proof bracelets more." Matt put his arms around her. Everyone stood silent for a moment. so much lost in so short of time.

Screaming and gunfire broke the moment and had everyone running down the other hall towards the children's' rooms.

Jack pulled out a gun from behind his back. "Got another one of those?" Jacob asked as they started running down the hall where the kids were located.

"I'll be right back CJ. Will, Uncle Roy…."

"We know what to do son."

"Be careful" _I love you. _ She said as he and Too Mean ran down the hall.

They got there in time to see Janet and Mandy tying up two men that had tried to rush the floor, with another three lay dead close by.

"That's my girl." Jack grinned at the tall blond securing the rope.

"No, that my GIRLS." Jacob reminded Jack.

Matt looked from one to the other confused.

Jack took pity on the other man. "Mandy is Jacobs daughter. Janet is her best friend. It is something of a sore spot for him when Mandy chose to marry me, then he fell for Janet and really didn't have a leg to stand on."

"You got my little girl pregnant." Jacob barked "On PURPOSE", but there was no real bite to his remark. He and Jack had become friends a while ago. He always thought that Jack was too old for his Mandy being fifteen years her senior, but then again, he was twenty years older than his Janet, and he wouldn't give her up for anything.

"It was the only way for us to get your blessing Dad." Mandy reached up and kissed her father's cheek.

Janet sauntered up to her husband, "I can attest to the fact that being married to an older man is an…. enlightening experience." She smiled knowingly as she ran her fingertips up his chest.

Matt could have sworn he heard the older man growl.

Mandy and Jack just grinned at them. "They have been like that since we set them up on a blind date." Jack stated.

"I wasn't sure about it, but Regina assured me that he was interested." Mandy stated.

"Not like he would ever let you know." The dark-haired woman stated, "He got flustered every time she was around. Oh, he put on his best General face, but our working relationship dictated that I could read even the slightest twitch or voice inflection."

The general in question gave the sexy nurse what could only be described as a brotherly teasing by sticking out his tongue.

"No thank you," She sassed back "Janet has much better uses for that. I would just have to cut it off."

Everyone laughed at her comment.

Regina caught the look that Will was giving her. She could think of all sorts of things he could do with his tongue. Especially if he kept looking at her like that.

"Is it safe to come out?" said a tentative male voice.

"Matt this is Colton Michaels, he is Erica Stone's… partner." Jack seemed to have a sour taste in his mouth when he said the word. Your woman was worthy of respect, honor, and commitment. Despite the arguments that Colton had tried to make, both Jack and Jacob felt that the vows and the 'piece of paper' were important for the security of the family.

He was not as big as Houston, but still a good size guy. Not bad looking, but something about his eyes made Houston suspicious of the guy.

"Husband." The man stated.

"When you marry her, you will get to be called her husband." Jacob stated in a way that brokered no argument.

Matt noticed no one in the room liked the man, only seemed tolerated him for Erica's sake.

"He doesn't believe in marriage, so they aren't legally married despite the fact that he tells everyone he is her spirit husband." Jack stated with a roll of his eyes and using air quote.

Matt had to agree. He may have been an idiot regarding CJ for the past twenty years but would have never disrespected her by saying that he was her husband when he wasn't. That is why he insisted on a real wedding with real vows. He had hoped to earn the title of husband in her mind by showing him he was serious about the job.

"I'm really sorry Regina." Jacob said to his head nurse. That peaked Will's curiosity.

"What do you have to be sorry about?" she sassed at him.

Jacob gave a small smile. "This was supposed to be a nice little stop off before we opened our own clinic. Just a way to get settled into the community."

"About that, I don't want to stay here." She chuckled at him.

"Neither do we." He chuckled "It is just that you had lost so much already, I hate that, because of me, you have lost even more."

"Listen to me General, you didn't do anything." He knew that Regina was working herself up into a bit of a fit "I've followed you all over the world as your nurse. I've assisted you in surgery in countries that no longer exist, with people who have all but been exterminated. I've been there through some of your triumph and your heart stopping losses. And you have been there for me. All of you have. When I thought my world would end when I lost Sean, I wanted to die with him. How could I go through the things we had been though and make it out alive, and he, safe at home, die because someone thought it was a good idea to get behind the wheel drunk. Who was there went Emma and Henry came into my life? Who gave me the recommendation that allowed me to adopt them? What did you tell me?"

"I told you that you were still alive because you weren't done yet, that despite all the danger you have gone though, you still had things to do."

"Exactly. And what is your motto that you kept telling me when we were entrenched in that hell hole?" Her hands were on her hips, challenging him.

"that we are exactly where we need to be, so stop worrying and just breath."

"Applies just as much today as it did then."

"Sweetheart, I do believe she has you on that one." Janet came and wrapped her arms around her husband.

Jacob had the decency to blush slight.

"I just felt that it was my fault we came here in the first place. After everything all of us have been through, I wanted someplace quiet and serene." He pulled Janet even closer.

"We all followed you because you are worth following dear. Ever think we were put here for a reason? Think about it. We have, Black ops, trauma surgeons, trauma nurse with field medic experience, psychiatrist who loves to dabble with gadget magic as well as blowing things up, Pediatric doctor, all with extensive military background. And that is just the skills of the group that I thought of off the top of my head."

"You throw in a few more Military personnel. Matt and I were Army Rangers. I was captured and spent twelve years in a prison camp, I think I can still be of some use. Dad is a company man, CJ is…well CJ...and Too Mean and his crew are mostly ex-military. I doubt that any of these guys know what they are up against when they started their little war, but if they haven't figured it out yet, they will soon, and we need to be gone." Will stated with his thumbs in in his belt loops. Houston, Roy, Too Mean and a few from his crew stood behind him.

Regina had never seen anything so sexy in her life. Will took her breath away. If she wasn't mistaken, her situation didn't seem to escape the Generals notice. He just grinned at her as she blushed back.

"We need to disappear and fast." Said Matt.

"We could always take the tunnels." Regina smirked. "The hospital is old, when the renovated about ten years ago, they closed off most of the access that lead to them. We are on the top floor, so we have access to the roof, then a straight access by the old stair well to the tunnels. It is the only access to that stair well, and that stair well is the only access to the tunnels. If we can get everyone to that stairwell without notice…" she let the sentence hang.

Jacob turned to the new group of people. "Other than being a dynamic nurse, Regina's specialty was finding ways out of sticky situations. She has saved Jack and me, as well as Mandy and Janet on many occasions."

Will was finding Regina sexier and sexier. "In that case, wish I had you around when I was being held captive."

"You wouldn't have been held for twelve years, that's for sure." Janet bandied back.

The only person that made things problematic as Nurse Stone's 'husband'. "Why don't we just surrender to the police. We haven't done anything wrong. They would have to let us go."

"Who do you think is out there ready to shoot us on sight? Who do you think has set us up to take the fall for all of their illegal activities?" He felt that they had sacrificed enough. Their house had been burned to the ground. He thought that they should just go to the police and let them take care of the situation.

Nurse Stone stepped in and took her four-month-old out of his hands, handed him to Regina, then took the two year old and gave him to Mandy both women taking the children out of the room, then turned to informed her soon to be 'ex-husband' that if he wanted to be a coward, than go for it, she was not going to allow her boys to grow up to be cowards as well.

"If we were your priority you would have made us a real family, you didn't because you were a coward then, and you are now. I hoped you would change, but it is obvious you won't. Why do you think I never put you on the boys birth certificate?"

The man stood astonished by her words and could only watch her back as she walked out the door.

Outside the hospital room, Jack stopped her. "you know we are going to have to restrain him so he doesn't make trouble before we can get everyone out of here."

She gave a sharp nod and kept walking.

She heard him yelling for her as the door closed behind her. She was glad that the boys weren't biologically his. They were IVF from a donor she picked out of a book. He never knew. The stupid idiot. The only real reason she stayed was he was well endowed. Pity he never figured out how to use it to its potential.

"Have you checked out the tunnels?" Will asked Regina when they were in the hall.

"Of course." She said back. "These are old storm shelter tunnels that connected various parts of town. The hospital, college, high school, Nation Headquarters, courthouse, airport…and other places. Lack of upkeep have made many of the tunnels have fallen in disrepair."

"Is the one to the airport clear?" Matt asked.

Regina nodded. "Somewhat unstable, but clear enough to go on foot."

"That is going to be a long walk for the smaller kids." Will commented because he knew there were at least four under the age of three.

"We can carry them. Just make sure they are well fed first, and they should sleep through it all." Regina interjected. "JoJo and CJ are going to be the most difficult to transport. Given JoJo's injuries, she can't walk the distance, and carrying her is going difficult at best. CJ's ribs are going to be giving her problems as well." She stated

"Don't count CJ out, she is one tough lady." Too Mean countered. "And me and my people will stay behind to make sure that you have a head start to get everyone out. Is there another tunnel we can take to throw them off the scent?"

"When you get to the cross road, if you go straight it should take you to the college. But if I know Mandy, and I know Mandy, she will be whipping up something to make it impossible to follow us. You guys should come with us."

Too Mean shook his head. "No, I owe Matt and CJ."

"You more than made up for any supposed debt when you helped to rescue Will." Matt stated.

Too Mean shook his head again, "This is what I do, let me." and went to his people.

"I'm gonna check on CJ and JoJo." Will stated as he walked down the hall. Being near Regina was doing things to his insides, he couldn't think straight. The situation was not helping. He felt like the caged animal that he had been for twelve years. The same tightness in his chest, the same overwhelming despair was mixed with the excitement of her. He wanted to talk to CJ. She was always a voice of reason, she had always been able to cut to the chase. Too bad she hadn't been able to do as much in her own life. He was glad that Matt had sacked up and married her, even if at this point, she was still under the delusion that it was a fake marriage. He knew that Matt wasn't going to let that stop him. He had been serious about going after CJ if Matt didn't so something. She was one in a million. She was someone he could love and respect and trust. He knew that he would have been single minded about his pursuit of her, she was one of those rare women that was worth it no matter what.

Then he met Regina and he just knew. He knew she was part of him, and he was hoping she felt he was part of her. He knew that if he was pursuing CJ, he would have missed this luscious creature that was awaking parts of him that he had forgotten existed.

Will opened the door to see CJ sitting at JoJo's bed side. "Hey CJ." He said quietly, not wanting to disturb the little girl next to her.

"Hey Will." She said, wiping her tears as she turned to him.

"Hey, hey, hey. We have a plan. Everything is going to be ok. We are going to get out of here."

"I just feel so useless."

He brought her into his arms. "You are anything but. You're my girl."

"Stop it. Having one Houston teasing me is more than enough. Besides I see how you look at Nurse Mills."

"I don't know what to do about her. Next to you, she is the most incredible woman I've ever met. You gotta know that I've set you up as the standard for most of my life."

"You have not." She chastised him.

"Have too. That is why I've never been serious about a woman. None of them measured up to you."

"What about…"

"I wanted to help. I know what it is like to feel helpless and hopeless, and I wanted to help her. She wasn't bad in bed either."

CJ's eyes got wide. "You and Matt are most definitely cut from the same cloth."

"Well now that Matt has taken you off the market…"

"He has not."

"Are you or aren't you two married?"

"We are, but..." She had the most expressive green hazel eyes he had ever seen. The image of mysterious dark chocolate eyes came unburdened to his mind.

"But nothing, do you honestly think that now that Matt has you that he is ever going to let you go?"

"Houston has never seen me like that Will, and you know it." Confusion still written all over her face, as well as just a little thread of hope.

"You, councilor, are wrong. I told him that if he didn't get head out of his ass soon, I was going to move in on you."

"You did? You were?" she asked startled by his comment. She had always had a soft spot for Will. He was there a lot with her and Matt growing up. But he had never indicated any leaning towards seeing her in a romantic sense. Then again, neither had Matt, but here was Will telling her that Matt wanted to stay married to her, and that he, Will, had at one point, wanted to date her. When did she become so blind when it came to men? Oh yeah, Houston men were her blind spot.

"Hell yeah. You are smart, funny, and sexy as hell. The only reason I never made a move was because you and Matt could never figure out what you guys wanted to be."

"When did you tell him that?"

"Two days before he took the Resort case."

CJ blinked at him. Was Matt insistent on the marriage looking real his way of telling her that was what he wanted? If so, the man was insane. Scratch that, she already knew that Houston was insane. Seemed all of them were.

Will left her with an interesting dilemma. "Trust me when I say, we are all getting out of here."

She nodded, he could see the wheels turning in her brain. He realized that it was a sexy look on a woman. When Regina was 'thinking' he was mesmerized by her, watching as she thought then dismissing a possible solution, then coming up with the perfect solution. Yeah it was sexy, he thought as he walked out of the room.

Regina looked at him askance, not sure if she should ask her next question, "You're in love with her, aren't you?"

Will smiled, something told him to be truthful because she would spot a lie. "Heck, everyone that knows CJ for more than five minutes is half in love with her. She is one of the best people to have in your corner. Her heart has always belonged to Matt though, and always will." Then looking at her, "Recently I've realized that my feelings for one beautiful woman is beyond my control and I'm afraid that I'm falling hard."

"No need to be afraid, I'm sure she will catch you." She said quietly, invading his space.

"Promise?" he asked.

She nodded.

When her lips met his, there were fireworks. Will had heard of people that had describe kissing someone with that description, but until now had never felt it. He didn't want to stop when she pulled back.

"Would you go out with me?" he asked breathless.

She smiled. That was a spectacular kiss. "Let's get out of this, and we will talk. I'll talk to the general and the major to see if they have any ideas about JoJo and CJ." She added just as breathless.

"I look forward to that talk." He didn't want to let her go, but knew he needed to. She seemed to have the power to throw all of his good intentions out the window. He needed to kiss her again, so he did. He regretted nothing.

It turned out that Jacob and Janet did have a few ideas.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Roy wasn't surprised to find out that most of the adults on the floor had some sort of military experience. The efficiency of the group was to precise to be anything else. Within ten minutes they had everything they needed to start the evacuation to the airport.

Emergency supplies had been retrieved from their hiding places and dispersed between everyone.

JoJo was heavily sedated for the transfer and strapped to a board that allowed her to be carried. Unfortunately, it was going to take a minimum of two people to carry the board. Jack seemed to have a sharp instinct for trouble and had brought enough firearms and ammo from his personal stash, passed it out to everyone who knew how to shoot. Even some of the teenagers, who had training, were given weapons. Babies and toddlers were fed and strapped to adults.

Matt, Will, Roy, and Jack carried JoJo. Four people made it for an easier carry, and if two needed to peel off to defend the group for any reason, it would be that much easier.

Matt voiced his concerns about CJ being given a weapon, due to her injured state, but she squashed them when she ejected the clip, checked it, checked the chamber, and reloaded the weapon. "We are getting out of here Houston and I'm not letting a little thing like a few broken ribs and bruised knuckles keep me from making sure you and JoJo and the rest of the families have someone watching their backs."

"I love you, you know, that right?" he looked at her, hoping that she could see the truth in his eyes.

She thought she saw something, something different about what he said and the way he said it. She really didn't want to examine it right now. "I love you too?" she answered and reached up and tried to kiss his cheek.

He stayed in her space. This was nothing new. The two of them tended to be comfortable in each other's comfort bubbles, but something in his eyes said more than any of his words ever could. "No, CJ. I love you." he said again before he leaned in and kissed her lips. There was nothing platonic about his way of expressing his words. It gave no doubt to exactly what he had meant and how he meant it.

The kiss was like nothing else they ever shared. It was sweet, passionate, promising…and so very swoon worthy. If this is how he kissed all of his other women, no wonder they tended to stop at nothing for more. She wasn't sure she would ever be able to not seek this out over and over again. No matter how good it had been with other men, she had only guessed that it could ever be possible to feel like this. It only took her a moment to wind her arms around his neck and fully participate.

Matt tried to keep in mind that she was hurt. That he couldn't crush her to him like he wanted to. He couldn't push her against the wall and take her. His mind was trying to hold on to all the reasons he couldn't take her to another room and make her his. His body screamed at him to take her. To claim her like he should have so many years ago. She had been his wife for three long weeks and he still hadn't made love to her.

As the kiss prolonged itself, their bodies had quickly become polar opposites, unable to pull away from each other as the kissed continued to heat up. He felt her finger nails scored into his scalp as his hands were free to roam her body. He wanted to gather her up and see if she would wrap her glorious legs around him.

CJ ignored the pull of her ribs as she worked herself closer to him. She knew he was holding back. She felt the clenching and unclenching of his fist on her back as he tried not to hurt her. That just made her all the more determined to drive him as crazy as he was driving her. Had driven her all those years. She knew she shouldn't, but she had wanted him for so long, for all the years they were close, but only had occasional touches, teasing kisses, that left her body and spirit begging for more that she could never allow him to know she desired. Well, not until now. Now, she let lose with all her longings and desires and poured them into this one kiss. This one soul searing, soul wrenching kiss. The first, and possibly only, kiss of its kind she may be able to give him.

Houston was dumbfounded by his reaction to her. Dumbfounded by what she was so fully expressing to him. Dumbfounded at how much of an idiot he had been to wait so long to tell her how he felt about her. He was and idiot for thinking he should fear how he felt, fear that she wouldn't love him back, fear that she would leave him, fear that she wouldn't want him, fear of his need for her.

Houston didn't know where he found the strength to pull away from her. Only the knowledge that she would be in his bed soon, and when she was, the last thing he wanted was for it to be fast or causing her pain. Right now, there were to many possible intrusions as well as things that needed to be done to ensure the safety of his family and the others that were helping them. When he finally found the strength to pulled away, she followed, not wanting to break contact. He gave in one last time, not being able to deny her, deny himself the taste of what was building between them.

Finally, with his forehead on hers, she saw the sweet smile of a woman, his woman, wanting more of him. He almost took her mouth again. The taste of her was addicting. He didn't know. If he had, he wouldn't have taken so long to get his 'Head out of his ass" as his cousin had put it. If he had known, he would have given up every woman he had ever met to be with her. He would have never simply regulated her to the role of his best friend. It was as if he knew on some level that she was it for him, knew if he took this leap with her, he would only see other beautiful women as something to be admired, with no desire to touch. He had always been popular with the ladies but had placed CJ to the side as if she wasn't one, as if she wasn't the most desirable of women. She was sexy without being, ok, he might as well fess up, slutty. Women tended to throw themselves at him. Even CJ in a bikini was sexy, not slutty.

Didn't know how sweet she would taste, how intoxicating her scent was, how addicting her kiss would be. Now that he did, he wanted more, wanted to drown in her, to in her arms over and over again only to be resurrected each time his name fell from her lips. Each time her body tensed around him and exploded. He was a junkie and CJ was his drug of choice.

He wondered if his CJ was a screamer? If she wasn't, could he make her one?

He had been a man that had a lot of sex, but he had never been out of control. He had always held back. He knew his, um... size, had always impressed, not to mention he knew how to use his size to his and his partners advantage. He had never been tempted to lose control. He had never been tempted to be irresponsible and not protect himself. Holding CJ, he was more than tempted. He was tempted to mark her in every way a man could mark his woman. To claim her every way she would allow. To be irresponsible and plant his seed deep inside her and watch it grow. He wanted to see the marks his child would put on her. He had seen her in a bikini and knew that being pregnant with JoJo hadn't marked her body. She was perversely glad about that. He wanted his child to do that. He wanted to see her breast fill with milk to feed their child. Ah hell, he would just be happy to see her breast. He wondered what they would look like. We wondered what her nipples would feel like in his mouth, he wondered….

He really needed to stop this line of though. It wasn't helping anything, and not getting them out of this dangerous situation.

He knew his hardness was nudging her and he wanted nothing more than to explore and find out if she was as hot for him as he was for her. He took her face in his hands and caressed her cheek until her eyes opened before he spoke. "And when we get out of this, I intend to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much I love you so that you will never have any doubt ever again."

He had to get away from her fast, or he would never leave, never stop touching her until they were both laying exhausted in sweaty heaps of satisfied flesh.

The next kiss was way too short, a peck really, something that left her somewhat confused and altogether wanting. All she could do was watch him walk to the group of people getting everyone situated. Licking her lips that still had his taste on them, and touching them, enjoying the bruised feeling that his lips had left. Her belly still held the imprint of his arousal, and her skin still tingled from the places he touched her. She wanted more…desperately wanted more.

Regina, who had seen the kiss, as well as the subsequent look on her face smiled. "Is it a family trait?" she asked.

CJ snapped out of her semi-aroused trance. "What?"

"Being able to make a woman forget who she is with a simple kiss? Even though there was nothing simple about THAT kiss."

CJ bit her lip as she looked at the other woman. "Will?" she asked, surprised that Will would have made a move so soon, but happy for him if he did.

"Oh yeah." Regina said back with longing in her tone.

"Then yes, definitely a family trait." She grinned at the other woman she was pretty sure was going to become a great friend and a part of the family in the very near future.

Getting to the roof was easy. The ten feet it took to get to the Stair Well door was another matter. Helicopters were buzzing around with spot lights. The hospital was surrounded with police, swat, helicopters, etc. They had been able to time their exodus between spotlights, but it slowed down the process considerably.

Too Mean and his crew were as good as their word. They had kept up the ruse that everyone was still hold up on the 5th floor to allow more time for escape.

Matt had called ahead to Rusty to find out of the plane was ready. Rusty had informed him that it was, he had made sure of it when he started seeing the mess taking place at the hospital.

As soon as their small group were through the door, they were to start down the stairs. The Rothery's took up point and started leading people down, Jack timed the departures and manned the door, and Will and Regina brought up the rear.

Will couldn't help himself. He pulled Regina to him and gave her a quick kiss and hug when they made it to the stairway door.

"Down boy, we still have to get to the tunnels and make it out of town safe." She smiled at him, not trying to get out of his embrace.

"Hurry up you two. Mandy has to set up a little diversion for anyone that might think it a good idea to try and follow." Jack urged.

"Come on soldier, we don't want to be on the wrong end of one of Mandy's diversions." Regina took his hand and pulled him down the stairs with Jack took up the rear.

The group had few problems with the two and a half mile trek through the dark underground tunnels. Few stumbles and falls mostly. The group made it to the airport without serious incident and found the plane setting alone on the tarmac.

"I don't like this." CJ stated. No one disagreed. The General set out recon teams to figure out what was going on.

Will and Regina came back with information that there were a number of city officers that were hiding in various places waiting for them.

Matt and Roy saw that Rusty had been cuffed to a chair, alone in a room.

Matt snuck into the room. "Houston, what are you doing here?"

"Trying to get you and everyone else out of here." he stated trying to figure out how he was going to get the cuffs off his pilot.

"You can't. Leave me here. There is a pilot, his name is Thaddeus. He is in hanger five. He is getting another plane ready. It is a little bigger than yours. The Choctaw Chief wasn't to pleased that one of his tribe was murdered. He is lending it. I'll be fine. Hurry."

Houston was at a loss. He and Rusty had been a loyal employee and friend for a long time. He trusted his instincts. That was what finally caused him to leave Rusty behind.

The group moved to hanger five where Thaddeus Potter was waiting with a jet fueled and ready. It was a tight fit for the twenty passengers, but they made it. Matt and CJ took up their positions as pilot and copilot and started to wheel out of the hanger.

When the sirens started blaring down the runway, the plane was already barreling down for take off. The cars weren't stopping, they were coming down the runway after them. They barely made take off when one car tried to cut in front of them. Once they were in the air, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ok CJ, out." came a voice from behind them. "Let Jack take over. You are long over due for pain meds, and I know you are hurting like a son of a bitch." Jacob stated. "We have JoJo in the bed in the back cabin, I want you there with her until we land. If she wakes up, she is going to need you anyway."

CJ wanted to fight the edict, but couldn't really come up with a logical reason. She did hurt, even more so now that he had brought it up. She knew she had been running on adrenaline for the last few hours, and she was going to crash hard very soon. Better to do so in a bed than the co-pilot seat.

She and Jack exchanged seats, and when the cockpit door closed behind her, Matt leaned over to Jack, "Thank you, I wasn't sure how I was going to get her to go back and rest."

"You have a smart woman there, Something that Jacob and I can relate to, logical arguments tend to work best, and if that doesn't work, add emotional ones on top. She could have dismissed her pain, but not JoJo needing her. Both together was a combination she couldn't fight."

Matt chuckled to himself.

Their flight wasn't long, but the adults were very busy making arrangements for when they land. Everyone pulling in favors, pulling in favors from different areas, government agencies, local authorities, etc. When they landed, in Montana of all places, the US Marshall service was waiting to escort them to a safe house.

Angela's husband and children were brought in soon after. She had a chance on the plane to look at the information that was on CJ Parsons thumb drive, only to find that the corruption had gone deeper than local governments, but to state and federal levels. It was the information she had found on the thumb drive that had her make the call to the US Marshall office and they redirected the plane from Houston Texas to Billings Montana. The information had linked a rash of assassination type of killings of officers and Judges from at least four states to not just Conner Morton, but a huge drug and human trafficking ring spanning eight countries. Thom Cobb thought he could get the top people responsible, and just to cover his basis, had Cami send CJ all the information they had collected so far.

"You mean, he called the US Marshall's office?" CJ asked.

"With the information he was supplying, we were ready to take him into protective custody before they were murdered. Then, as all of you well know, everything blew up. Conner Morton is still out there, as is Duane Pike and his son Darryl. All of you are material witnesses in that case considering most of you were present at the time of the second attack and from the report I received from your people in Sherman, there were multiple fingerprints on the syringe. We were able to pull up prints belonging to three people. Darryl Pike, of course, Duane, and Conner Morton."

Everyone was astounded by the news.

"What exactly does that mean for us?" Matt asked.

"It means that all of you are urged to accept our invitation to witness protection, now."

Everyone looked at to each other trying to gauge reactions to the request.

"Would we be separated?" Roy asked.

"That would be ideal." Said one of the agents, "of course, families would be kept together as much as possible."

"But that is what we are." Regina took the lead.

"What do you mean?" another agent questioned.

"The General" She pointed to Jacob "and the Captain" pointing to Mandy "are father and daughter, she is married to the Colonel" pointing to Jack who gave a mock salute "And the General is married to the Major" pointing to Janet who gave a curt nod, "The Major, Erica and myself" pointing to the other nurse and herself "Are foster sisters."

"What about this other group?"

Regina sighed. "CJ is JoJo's mother and is married to Matt Houston," Matt put his arm around CJ's waist, "Roy is his Uncle and Will is his cousin aaaannnddd um…" he hesitated just a moment…" My fiancé." She said quickly hoping that everyone would just go with it.

She looked at the only person that mattered in that moment. Will smiled at her and pulled her to him with a quick kiss and a hug.

"As far as Angela and her family are concerned, she is Roy's goddaughter." she stated hoping that she had read the situation right, and if she didn't, it wouldn't matter.

"We do have Pleasant Grove." The tall agent stated.

The bald agent sighed. "With how well they worked getting everyone out, it might be a good idea to keep them together. We'll take care of the relocation ourselves. I'm not sure how far this goes up the chain."

Tall agent nodded.


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok, so everyone who reviewed last, this is your fault. Completely and totally. Wrote it in about two hours. Remember, no beta, so all mistakes are mine, and I'm just borrowing the Characters. :)**

**Chapter 8**

If anyone were to tell CJ Parsons, Attorney at Law, Harvard Graduate, Partner in an Investigation Firm as well as 48% shareholder in Houston Enterprises Inc that she would enjoy spending her days in the kitchen feeding her new family that suddenly exploded to over twenty people, on a ranch in the middle of nowhere Montana, loving and being loved by her best friend, she would have laughed in your face and called you crazy.

That is exactly where she found herself today.

It had been five weeks since one of her best friends and her husband were brutally murdered leaving their eleven-year-old daughter to be beaten and raped by the intruders. That eleven-year-old found her father's gun and killed the intruders.

It had been five weeks since she had to tell her best friend, Matt Houston, that the eleven-year-old was biologically her daughter and she was now the sole care giver for her.

It had been five weeks since one of the intruder's brothers had tried to kill her daughter in the hospital.

It had been five weeks since she had knocked him unconscious but had sustained broken ribs and bruise and bloody knuckles.

It had been five weeks since the doctors and nurses' lives and the lives of their loved ones had been threatened.

It had been five weeks since fires and explosions had taken everything from each person except their lives and the lives of their loved ones. A miracle really.

It had been five weeks since they were marked as terrorist.

It had been five weeks since they had escaped. It had been five weeks since the US Marshalls had faked all their deaths in a plane crash right after they had been redirected to the Montana office.

It had been five weeks since all of them had been required to give up everyone and everything they ever had or were.

Five weeks ago, her whole world changed.

Four weeks ago, Will and Regina got married. When you know, you know both had said with a shrug.

Four weeks ago, the ragged, tired group of twenty-five people, twelve adults and thirteen children, had been taken to Pleasant Grove. Pleasant Grove was set up as a 'family friendly, luxury, hunting lodge.' The original developers had sprung for the best building materials, best amenities, best of everything to make the Pleasant Grove Lodge the best of the best. The developers had gone bankrupt and the government had bought it for cheap.

The main house easily housed all of the newly formed family with three floors, and attic and a basement. The first floor had the kitchen, dining area, sitting rooms, and offices. The second and third floors had four suites that were turned into master suites and eight regular rooms with baths on each floor.

The Attic was turned into a library with computer lab and class room areas. Everyone was in agreement that the best chance to stay hidden was to homeschool the kids for a while. The shelves still needed to be filled and lists had been made.

The Basement had a full theater/media room, another computer lab strictly for gaming with a dedicated server to the house with an untraceable IP address. There was also an area for board games, fooze ball, ping pong, and two pool tables.

There was a Helicopter pad and a small runway with hangers for small aircraft. The aircrafts had been used to get supplies for the coming winter. They were able to go to Salt Lake City or Denver to get supplies, so it didn't leave any possible trail to Montana.

The kitchen was huge, and it was CJ's favorite place in the house. She had always loved cooking and gardening, but she didn't know how much pleasure she would get out of preparing meals for this huge group. It was nothing for Houston to find her in the kitchen with three or four helpers, usually the tweens or teens, directing various parts of the meals that were to be prepared.

Matt loved just watching her when she didn't know he was there. She was a natural with the kids and the meals were heaven. Everyone had said they would pitch in with all the other house work and such if she just continued to cook at least five days a week. She thrived and blossomed under their praise in a way that Houston didn't know was possible.

She was still his impossible best friend. She was still sassy and snarky. She was still the most beautiful woman he had ever met, inside and out. Here, in the mist of all that has been happening, she seemed softer. Her hair was longer and fell between her shoulder blades in dark chestnut waves. They had straightened her hair and gave her hair extensions to help change her look. She had also taken to wearing little to no makeup and what shocked Houston the most is that she was even more beautiful than she was with make-up. She had a glow about her that shown her happiness. She helped with the horses, they went fishing, even went swimming in the swimming hole located in one of the ponds on the over 3200 acres of land they were currently on. She seemed more relaxed than he had ever seen her. More confident in her own skin. Almost like she no longer had anything to prove. Almost.

He had asked her about it. They were still married, and he wasn't going to change that. They still shared a bed, but because of her injury, they hadn't made love. They had kissed and were constantly showing affection to each other. She was showing more and more affection to JoJo and the other children. He was waiting for her to make the first move. He didn't want to rush her. He knew that broken ribs usually took about six weeks to heal, so he wasn't in any hurry.

"I don't know. I guess I have never felt as connected to people as I do here."

Her statement had taken Houston by surprise. He thought the two of them were always connected. They were best friends. He guessed the surprise shown on his face because she continued.

"Don't give me that look Mattlock. Even you had made it very clear that when push came to shove, I was still an expendable part of your life."

"When the hell did I do that?" He asked exasperated.

"One word. Elizabeth." _Penny in the air. _ She had thought.

She saw the look on his face as he revisited that short period of his life and realized that he had totally f**ked up. He was so easy to read. He tried to see things through her eyes. She let him see the pain he had caused her when he had given up being an investigator, the firm, just handed it all over the her and his uncle with barely an acknowledgement that it had been an important part of both their lives. She watched as he revisited their conversations on the matter in his mind and it shocked him how much he had expected her to endure, how much insecurity he had caused her.

_And the penny drops._ She thought again.

"I'm so sorry CJ. I never meant to marginalize you. That is what I did, wasn't it?"

She didn't answer him, but the tear that fell down the side of her face was answer enough.

"You weren't the first, doubt seriously you will be the last." She said meekly. "All my life it seemed I had to take care of myself. Make sure that I did what was necessary if things got bad. I had to go to Harvard, I had to get good grade, I had to intern in a highly prestigious law firm. Then you came back into my life and I had to be the strong independent woman that was to be expected. I had to bottle my feelings until I had convinced myself they didn't exist. I had love someone else, because I wasn't allowed to love the person that had taken up residence in my heart. I had to find a life outside of you. And I did. I got over you. I got over my crush on you, and we had a wonderful friendship. Then it seemed that no matter what I did, or how good of a friend I was, I was still only a sub character in your life, one easily discarded and walked away from." She turned her back to him, trying to avoid having him see just how much that realization had hurt.

Houston hadn't known what to do other than wrap her in his arms. So that is exactly what he didn't. He felt her quiet sobs and it was like a knife plunging into his heart. He wondered how many other times he had almost lost her, almost drove her away, almost killed her affection for him. He wondered how he could have been so cold and callous with her, especially since he finally accepted the fact that he couldn't exist without her. If he had lost her because of Elizabeth, he would have never recovered from the loss.

When she had resigned because he claimed that Robert Tyler was guilty, he spent the night staring at the phone, wanting to call, knowing she didn't want to hear from him. He knew then but wasn't ready to accept it. He didn't accept how vital she was to his very existence. Then Elizabeth happened, and he was only just now realizing how close to self-destruction he was. How close he was to losing his soul. She was the other part of his soul. She had been there for so long, he hadn't realized it until he spent that night, and even then he didn't understand.

CJ turned in his arms and sobbed on his chest letting him know how much it hurt. He realized that he had all but thrown her away. He kept apologizing, holding her, wiping her tears. Telling her he was wrong, and he was going to make it up to her. Telling her he loved her, and he would prove that to her everyday if she let him. He had held her than night until she fell asleep. Sleep hadn't come for him that night until the wee hours of the morning.

The days and weeks after that night had marked a new and improved Mattlock Houston. He was devoted to showing CJ just how vital she was to his existence. How much he loved her and wanted her.

It had been five weeks, and CJ felt wonderful when Matt had come up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. "Everything smells wonderful." He whispered.

His voice vibrated through her. Since that night that she had cried in his arms, her reaction to him had been much more profound. It was impossible to keep her reaction to him to herself when he was near. She had almost swooned when he kissed her neck, hitting just the right spot to electrify her body. Sleeping with him had become an exercise in frustration, waking up with him was considerably worse.

Every morning, EVERY MORNING, he would be snuggling her from behind, pushing himself into her. No matter how the night started. Separate sides of the King size bed, pillows in the middle, it didn't matter.

EVERY SINGLE MORNING, his large hand would find its way under her night shirt and fondle her breasts, flicking the nipple with his calloused thumb.

EVERY MORNING he would plaster himself to her back.

EVERY MORNING his facial hair would tickle her neck as his lips found that one spot that made her moan.

EVERY MORNING she would push at him, seeking more.

EVERY MORNING his hand would start to seek her, to find out how wet she was for him.

EVERY MORNING, he would wake up and apologize, and roll away trying to catch his breath.

EVERY MORNING she would mentally cuss out her healing ribs.

EVERY MORNING she would mentally cuss out Houston for stopping.

One morning she had enough. She was over stimulated and was desperate need of an orgasm.

"Why are we bothering with this charade Houston?" she had yelled at him when he pulled away.

"What are you talking about?" he asked confused.

"I don't know why you want to keep going with all when it is obvious that you aren't even attracted to me in the first place. It isn't like you even want me, you just got yourself stuck with me." As she stomped out of bed.

"Not attracted to you? NOT ATTRACTED TO YOU? Not want you." He stormed to her and pinned her to the wall. He pulled her one hand down to feel just how hard he was, how attracted he was, how much he wanted her. "I take a f**king cold shower every night because I can't stop thinking about how it would feel to push my fingers inside you, to feel how wet I make you. I make you wet don't I."

It was a comment not a question, but she answered anyway with a nod.

Pushing himself more into her space, she felt his breath against her neck, his words a harsh whisper, "There is nothing I want more than to plunge inside of you, to feel you come apart around me, to bury myself until I fill you. I want to come deep inside you. I've never had sex without protection, but I want that with you, to feel all of you, no barriers, to feel your heat, your wetness, to hear you said my name as you cum. I want you more than I've ever wanted any other woman, but you're hurt. And I can't in good conscious take you knowing I could hurt you worse if I do that.

"Not attracted to you? There has never been another woman more beautiful than you. NEVER. I want to make love with you, I want to F**K you till you scream, and I want everything in between with you. I want to fulfill every fantasy that beautiful brain of yours can come up with, and if you are game, a few of my own. I want to watch my children grow within you, I want to watch as they suckle at your breast. I want you CJ. I want every part of you, and I want to give you every part of my self. I want to hold nothing back. But you are still healing, and I can't stand the possibility of causing you more pain. I love you. I need you."

She kissed him. After such an impassioned speech, how could she not. Everything she wanted to say to him was in that kiss. That she wanted all those things with him, that she wanted to be able to touch him, and be touched by him. That she wanted to cling to him has he gave himself over to the passion simmering between them. She wanted to see his face as he came inside her. She wanted his children. She wanted everything with him. She poured all that into her kiss.

They both took cold showers that night.

Five weeks ago, she was injured. And injury that made expressing her love for the only man she ever had such deep feeling for; that such a simple word at 'love' couldn't possibly encompass such desire.

Five hours ago, she was given the all clear from Dr. Rothery.


End file.
